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Botswana President Mokgweetsi, Eric Keabetswe Masisi, faces former Foreign Minister Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi as the ruling party's candidate in the presidential election in October. By TIMOTHY A. CLARY (AFP / File)
The party that runs Botswana since independence, more than half a century ago, faces a historic challenge on Friday when it meets to select its presidential candidate for presidential elections. ;October.
For the first time in the history of one of Africa's most stable democracies, the ruling party, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), will see a real struggle for the high-ranking post .
President Mokgweetsi Masisi confronts a former foreign minister, Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi, backed by his predecessor and rival, Ian Khama.
It is generally expected that the winner will win the presidency after national elections in a country where the opposition is largely fragmented.
About 1,000 party delegates attend a two-day meeting in the small rural town of Kang, located in the Kalahari Desert, 400 km northwest of the capital Gaborone.
BDP congresses have traditionally been rubber stamps for the incumbent's candidacy for re-election.
"This time, it's a new experience," AFP Leonard Sesa, a lecturer in political science at the University of Botswana told AFP.
Analysts suggest that the unprecedented challenge between Venson-Moitoi and a sitting president could disrupt party stability and even lead to a split.
The 57-year-old BDP has been running Botswana continuously since independence in 1966, presiding over a diamond-driven prosperity that stands out on a continent where poverty and turbulence are commonplace.
Rivalry
Masisi and former president Ian Khama quarreled publicly. Masisi canceled some of the policies put in place by his predecessor.
The former president endorsed Venson-Moitoi, who was fired from the government in December after announcing his intention to run for office.
The gap between Masisi and his predecessor was laid bare last month when Khama accused his protege of treason.
Former Botswana Foreign Minister Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi is backed by Masisi's predecessor and rival, Ian Khama. By MONIRUL BHUIYAN (AFP / File) Last year, Khama chose his ex-vice-president Masisi to succeed him after spending the maximum of 10 years in power.
But Masisi decided to break with the past and establish his own authority since his inauguration a year ago.
In an interview with the neighboring SABC public broadcaster in South Africa, Khama said he regretted having chosen Masisi to follow him.
"He had a nature, a character that I felt very close to and that I was in. What I see now is a totally different person than I knew," Khama said.
"Unfortunately and very sadly … I realized that I may have misjudged him and that we are now in a situation where there is a certain impbade between him and me."
"Healthy for democracy"
Analysts believe that Khama may be uncomfortable facing speculation that the Masisi government is about to arrest many of Khama's confidants – including one on charges of tax evasion and a another on bribery charges.
"He fought for Masisi to become president, so he feels betrayed, abandoned and thinks that he can only be safe if Masisi is no longer president and if Venson-Motoi becomes president. "said Anthony Ndulamo Morima, lawyer and political commentator.
Morima suggests that "promises or commitments may have been made and that Masisi has not kept the word".
"The former president feels betrayed and unprotected, feels exposed and feels vulnerable," Mosima said.
Tensions of true competition for the position of senior official may shake the party, but many commentators believe that such a development is good.
"Such competition is healthy for our democracy," Morima said.
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