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The decision of the Botswana Football Association (BFA) Appeals Committee reinstating the vetted candidates should have been final.
Tariq Babitseng, Masego Nchingane, Phadza Butale and Carlos Sebina are expected to take up positions on the BFA National Executive Committee (NEC). It also ousted controversial BFA Election Committee Chairperson Representative Letina.
Unbeknownst to the four, the Electoral Commission had another trump card. After Letina left, the Commission replaced him with Thapelo Reshen, who wasted no time in creating chaos. On Tuesday, the newly appointed Thapelo Reshen wrote a letter to Babison, Nchingane, Butale and Sabina.
In the letter, the new Election Commission Chairman informed them that the Commission would comply with the election demands and ordered them to be “included in the list of candidates for the 2024 BFA NEC post elections.”
However, things took a turn. He told them that they had to undergo a test of integrity first. “… Although the order states that your names will be added to the list of those who will be published on the 19thday As of July 2024, please note that the names on this list have passed the integrity test set out in Article 33.5 of the BFA Constitution.”
The clause states that “a candidate for the post of national executive committee member shall be already active in the field of football, shall not have previously committed a criminal offence incompatible with the post, shall not be bankrupt or have failed the integrity test determined by the Election Commission, and shall comply with the code of ethics of the Indian Football Federation, shall have residency within the territory of the Indian Football Federation, and shall be below 30 years of age and below 75 years of age.”
“The commission did not conduct a good faith test on your names at that time because they did not meet the general guidelines, which have been overturned by the Election Appeals Commission,” Resheng wrote.
He then went on to inform them that, in order to comply with regulations, their nominations “must be tested for integrity” before being included in the shortlist of candidates, which will be announced on May 5.day August.
As expected, the BFA Electoral Commission’s decision to subject the four to an integrity test has caused outrage. The decision is seen as yet another attempt to vet the four and pave the way for MaClean Letshwiti and his team to run unopposed in the upcoming elections.
“The level of desperation has reached new levels at the Electoral Commission and the BFA executive committee. The vetting was done only once. The vetting was done. Those who were vetted appealed, won and were reinstated to run for office. Now the commission has come back and said you won but now we are going to do another vetting on you. This is corruption,” said a source.
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