APM calls off meeting with DPP legislators
Former president Peter Mutharika on Sunday cancelled at the eleventh hour his scheduled first meeting with all Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members of Parliament (MPs) since the party lost power in 2020 elections.
In an interview on Sunday, Mutharika’s spokesperson Shadric Namalomba said Mutharika wanted to urge the legislators not to support the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) Constituency Redermacation Report, but got frustrated that the government side successfully presented the same on Friday.
He said: “As such, the meeting had to be cancelled because the constituency issue was the main agenda for the meeting.
“The meeting was scheduled for Sunday , but politics being politics, it looks like people in government knew that we were supposed to meet and brought the report on Friday, which was hurriedly debated and adopted.”
Namalomba, who is Mangochi South West MP and DPP spokesperson, further said the agenda of on Sunday’s meeting was only to discuss parliamentary business, particularly the Bills.
“We, therefore, could not meet on the matter and Mutharika decided to postpone the meeting. But the position of DPP is that we already have too many constituencies, when you compare with our neighbouring countries such as Zambia.
“So, we wanted our MPs to know about this but government brought the issue on Friday. We are hoping that we will be meeting very soon when business suggests otherwise,” said Namalomba.
But in a separate interview, Zomba Chisi legislator Mark Botomani said Mutharika lost an opportunity to hear from the party’s lawmakers on other important matters.
He said: “If you check, President Lazarus Chakwera met his Malawi Congress Party [MCP] legislators. That’s what is needed when Parliament convenes. Unfortunately, what has been happening is that our president has since 2020 been meeting selected MPs.
“I thought the Sunday meeting should have proceeded so that as MPs we discuss issues with our father. This was also going to be the first meeting where the president and Leader of Opposition in Parliament Kondwani Nankhumwa would have met, but it’s all off.”
Political analyst George Phiri agreed with Botomani, saying Mutharika needs to meet his lieutenants and stamp authority.
“This is clearly a lost opportunity because meeting the MPs would be important to bring together warring factions. It was a good time to shelve some selfish ambitions and concentrate on the party,” he said.
Since losing power in 2020, Mutharika has been meeting selected legislators, and the latest was when the party elected George Chaponda as Leader of Opposition, only to lose the matter in court.
Cracks in the former governing DPP came to light after embattled secretary general Grezelder Jeffrey in August 2020 told The Nation that Mutharika, who lost the June 23 2020 Presidential Election to President Lazarus Chakwera, had done his part and that the party needed a new person to lead it into the future. Peter Mutharika took over leadership of DPP after the death of his brother, Bingu in April 2012.
