The president, Ian Khama, told a political rally in Molepolole in mid-February that there would be no elections to select members of the central committee of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) at the party congress, due in July. Instead, he is promoting the idea of a "compromise list" of appointees drawn from across the party. The objective is clearly to avoid the bitter confrontations that occurred at the previous elections in 2009, when polarisation along factional lines ultimately led to the formation of the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD; September 2009, The political scene). To demonstrate his commitment to party unity, Mr Khama has asked Daniel Kwelagobe-the party chairman, whose refusal to leave the party is widely credited with preventing a more serious split-to supervise the selection. Nonetheless, voices of dissent, albeit largely anonymous, have been heard, suggesting that the party's long-term interest would be better served by allowing greater internal democracy.