Midway into the 60-day official campaign for the September 16 General Election, presidential candidates yesterday intensified their push for State House by holding whistle-stop rallies to woo voters.
In Lilongwe, incumbent President Lazarus Chakwera, the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) torchbearer, criss-crossed constituencies in Lilongwe City riding on the continuity platform in his campaign.
During a whistle-stop tour at Chigodi Trading Centre in Lilongwe, the President said his administration is dedicated to further empowering women and the youth in sectors such as agriculture, entrepreneurship and mining.
He stressed the importance of involving the youth and women in projects that benefit both them and the nation.
“For the past years, my government has ensured that women and youths have ventured into irrigation systems to secure year-round harvest,” said Chakwera.
The President also noted that in mining, women and youths should be included, as it generates additional revenue that benefits them.
On the other hand, UTM Party president Dalitso Kabambe was in Lilongwe Rural where he pledged to turn around the economy if voted into power on September 16 2025.
The former Reserve Bank of Malawi governor faulted the MCP administration under Chakwera for purportedly failing to fulfil promises.
Said Kabambe: “When Chakwera was campaigning in 2020, he promised Malawians that they would be buying fertiliser at K4 000 and that people would be eating thrice a day.
“He also promised to construct a tarmac road in this area. Has that happened? Are you buying fertiliser at K4 000 now? Are you eating three meals a day? The Malingunde road has not been built. Chakwera has failed and he deserves to be voted out.”
Ironically, in the campaign for the court-sanctioned June 23 2020 Fresh Presidential Election, Chakwera partnered with Kabambe’s UTM Party predecessor Saulos Chilima, now deceased, as his running mate. The “three meals a day [kudya katatu pa tsiku]” and K4 500 per fertiliser bag promises were drawn from the UTM manifesto during the nullified 2019 presidential election.
UTM Party withdrew from the Tonse Alliance in June last year, barely days after Chilima’s death in a military plane crash in Viphya Plantation on June 10 2024 alongside eight others.
In the Northern Region, retired Justice of Appeal Jane Ansah, who is running mate to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate and former president Peter Mutharika, invaded Nkhata Bay at the start of her Northern Region campaign.
The former Malawi Electoral Commission chairperson said Chakwera has failed to live up to his words by not resigning from his position despite failing to deliver on various promises.
“He said he would resign if he fails to deliver. The hunger facing the nation is a sign of failure. He has mentioned cyclones as excuses, but there were cyclones too during the previous DPP administration,” she said.
Ansah also highlighted the DPP manifesto promise of free secondary school education, which she said will help lessen the inequality gap in the country.
She reiterated the pledge to spur rural growth and small-scale businesses through the K5 billion Constituency Development Fund
For the first time, Ansah publicly responded to critics questinong her credibility after nullification of the election she presided over, saying what happened in 2019 is history and now is time to move forward.
She was accompanied by DPP leaders, including vice-president responsible for the Northern Region Jappie Mhango, regional governor for the North Christopher Mzomera Ngwira and national organising secretary Sameer Suleman. She conducted rallies at several trading centres, including Tukombo, Kande, Chintheche, Nkhata Bay boma and Mpamba.
On his part, Vice-President Michael Usi, who is leading Odya Zake Alibe Mlandu Party, was in Blantyre where he hit back at his critics who have described him as ungrateful following his criticism of the MCP government.
He said MCP and the critics should acknowledge the selflessness he showed when he allowed Chilima to partner Chakwera in the fresh election instead of him and Chilima featuring on the UTM Party ticket as they did in 2019.
Usi also vowed to continue denouncing corruption in government.
He said: “I don’t regret condemning corruption in government. I will continue condemning corruption in government and elsewhere because corruption is the evil that has suffocated Malawi’s development.”
There are 17 presidential candidates approved to contest in the September 16 General Election. Former president Joyce Banda, presidential candidate for People;’s Party, is the sole woman candidate in the race.
—Additional reporting Malawi News Agency
