With oppostion coalition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) having lost out the race in election petitions, University of Botswana political science lecturer Mokaloba Mokaloba said there is a need for the party to hold a congress to evaluate and map a way forward to 2024. On Wednesday a panel of five judges led by Court of Appeal Judge President, Justice Ian Kirby delivered a debilitating blow, dashing the hopes of UDC masses when they ruled that the court does not have jurisdiction to entertain election appeals. Effectively, the decision brought finality the issue of 2019 election results petitions brought by some UDC candidates. Making a ruling on an application by lawyers representing the Independent Electoral Cpommission (IEC) and the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), that according to statutes governing the process of handling election petitions the CoA cannot entertain an appeal on a matter already decided by the High Court, Kirby ordered that the appeals be struck out with costs including the costs of the counsel. Mokaloba says UDC should go back to the drawing board insisting that the 2019 elections perfomance and outcomes of courts need to be addressed accordingly without any failure. “Next 2024 elections are still far…