PAC engages Chakwera
The Public Affairs Committee (PAC) last week engaged leader of opposition in Parliament Lazarus Chakwera and lobbied his support on the execution of the 50+1 electoral system of electing the country’s President.
The quasi-religious body also discussed with Chakwera, who is also Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president, the issue of removing members of Parliament (MPs) voting powers at council level.
PAC chairperson the Reverend Felix Chingota, in his prepared remarks presented during the interface meeting which have been made available to The Nation, said the body sought Chakwera’s support to pass the issues during the November 2017 meeting of Parliament.
The issue of the Local Government Act (LGA) and electoral reforms were some of the 19 items PAC had a conversation on with Chakwera prior to the May 20 2014 Tripartite Elections and have continuously risen during its subsequent All-Inclusive Stakeholders conferences.
“To ignore them as we approach the 2019 elections is tantamount to a deliberate disregard of the wishes of Malawians. Our consultations on the question of federalism confirm the fact that Malawians want reforms to be implemented. It is our considered view that failure to undertake these reforms will be a recipe for further calls for federalism,” reads part of the statement made by Chingota.
He also observed the breakdown of social cohesion within the MCP and urged Chakwera and other political leaders to promote democratic values rather than personal interests.
Said Chingota: “Malawians are watching your conduct on reforms and they are in control of their voting power during elections. They will respect you if you support the reforms they wish to see pass in Parliament in particular 50+1 and removal of MPs voting powers at council level.”
In an interview last evening, Chakwera threw his weight behind the 50+1 majority system of election, saying MCP and other opposition parties were ready to support the move once tabled in Parliament.
He said: “Basically, we believe in separation of powers and we do not have problems for us to support both the Local Government legislation and I have also already made my position known with regard to the 50+1 regarding legitimacy which we feel is extremely important and we would want to support that.”
On the problems facing his party, Chakwera said the issues were being handled internally.
“We appreciate the fact that any organisation going through transition and change faces those but we are trying our best to make sure that we have an inclusive understanding without losing focus as we rebuild the party, so we understand their concerns and we are addressing them within the party,” he said.
The leader of opposition further said timely implementing of the electoral reforms and 50+1 in particular would ensure that the elected president enjoys legitimacy to govern.
The Malawi Law Commission has also backed the introduction of the 50+1 system while maintaining the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) system to consolidate acceptability and legitimacy of the elected Head of State.
Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Samuel Tembenu told The Nation edition of July 25 2017 that he would present the Law Commission report to Cabinet for further discussion before presenting it to Parliament in November this year.
In the past five presidential elections since adoption of multiparty democracy through the 1993 National Referendum, only in two elections the winner scooped total votes equal to more than 50 percent of the votes cast.
In the most recent elections in May 2014, President Peter Mutharika just got 36.4 percent of the total votes while in 2009 his brother Bingu wa Mutharika (deceased) had unprecedented 66.17 percent coming from a meagre 35.97 percent in 2004.
In its report backing the 50+1 system, the Law Commission, among others, said it was responding to almost two decades’ calls to reform laws that regulate the administration and management of elections in the country.
