Kaliwo faction adamant on MCP convention

Malawi Congress Party (MCP) secretary general Gustave Kaliwo and his faction maintain they will proceed with the party’s  convention slated for 7 to 9 July as no one has lodged a political or legal objection.

But the party’s second deputy secretary general Eisenhower Mkaka, who is in the faction siding with president Lazarus Chakwera, yesterday said MCP does not recognise the convention; hence, they are not attending.

In his statement on MCP official headed letter, Kaliwo said the convention would be held in the Eastern Region at a venue to be announced, with the same delegates that attended and were elected at their 2013 convention.

Reads the statement in part: “In the event that any delegate has resigned from the Malawi Congress Party or has passed away, the information should be similarly communicated to the convention secretariat.”

But in an interview yesterday, Mkaka said what Kaliwo—a lawyer by profession—and his faction were trying to do was illegal according to provisions of the MCP constitution and that they know it within themselves.

On what the party was doing to resolve the issue ahead of the 2019 Tripartite Elections, Mkaka said they are trying their best as a party to take the issue to bed.

In an earlier interview, Chancellor College based political analyst Mustapha Hussein warned MCP against internal feuds, emphasising that it was not healthy for the country’s democracy.

In recent months, MCP has been having internal wrangles that have seen the party divided with other members calling for the resignation of Chakwera.

The convention, according to Kaliwo, was proposed following concerns from its regional and district leaders who are not pleased with the party’s leadership.

At an earlier press briefing, Kaliwo said the convention would help the party have a chance in the forthcoming 2019 general elections, and according to their MCP constitution, an emergency convention can be called by a two-thirds majority of the national executive committee (NEC), or at the request of the district committees.