Main opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) yesterday held a critical national executive committee (NEC) meeting in Lilongwe, but the agenda completely excluded the stormy issue of party president Lazarus Chakwera’s future.
Instead, the closed-door meeting at the MCP headquarters in City Centre focused on rebuilding the party by strengthening its grassroots structures and preparing for the 2030 elections. Key outcomes of the session included the administrative task of filling several vacant executive positions.
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The gathering, attended by Chakwera, came amid mounting speculation that some party members would demand an early convention to decide the party’s leadership. Concurrently, rival factions have been suggesting a push for constitutional amendments to allow Chakwera to seek another term and lead the MCP in the 2030 general election.
However, speaking after the meeting, MCP secretary general Richard Chimwendo Banda stated that the NEC was not the appropriate forum to discuss succession or choose party leaders.
“MCP does not do that. Maybe another party, but MCP does not do that. So maybe we can be allowed to educate them a little bit that this is a national executive committee and it’s not a convention to discuss that,” he said.
Chimwendo Banda said that MCP has spent its first year in opposition reflecting on its electoral defeat in the September 16 2025 General Election and reorganising itself to regain momentum ahead of the next polls.
“We lost the elections. We have been learning throughout and organising ourselves. We are working hard to make sure the party remains strong,” he said.
But the party’s handling of the meeting did not sit well with internal critics.
Former Kasungu West legislator and concerned MCP member, Alex Major, last evening accused the current leadership of violating the party’s constitution, arguing that an early convention was necessary. He also questioned the credentials of some of the new appointees to senior positions.
He said: “I don’t know on what grounds the people who were meeting were discussing. We have very pressing issues that they needed to discuss. The people elected are not true supporters. The only thing which I think they have discussed [correctly] is the creation of new regions, which will help build the party from the grassroots.”
Independent analysts also warned that sidestepping the leadership debate could backfire on the opposition giant.
Political scientist George Phiri observed that MCP urgently needs to resolve its leadership question and reposition itself long before the 2030 elections.
“The party needs to reposition itself ahead of yet another election,” he noted. “The political party itself needs to understand that the political environment has changed after the 2025 elections. The issue of leadership has to be resolved in good time, and that will help as they look ahead.”
Political Science Association of Malawi spokesperson Mavuto Bamusi added that MCP’s decision to dodge the succession question points to a deepening problem of intra-party democracy.
“There are factions in the party that are disgruntled with the current leadership. They have avoided that in their discussions, but it’s critical if the party is to rebuild. They need a serious conversation over it,” he said.
Despite the underlying tension, the NEC proceeded with massive structural reforms, approving a restructuring plan that splits both the Southern and Central Regions into three distinct zones each, while comprehensively reorganising the Lakeshore Region.
The changes effectively increase the number of MCP political regions from six to nine.
Chimwendo Banda explained that the expansion aims to bring party leadership closer to the general membership and fortify the party’s grassroots base.
The meeting also filled several high-profile internal vacancies. Mzimba South legislator Emmanuel Chambulanyina Jere was elected first deputy secretary general, replacing Mangochi Monkey Bay member of Parliament (MP) Gerald Kazembe, who recently resigned. Former Cabinet minister Owen Chomanika was elected second deputy secretary general, replacing his former Cabinet colleague Uchizi Mkandawire, who also stepped down following MCP’s 2025 electoral defeat.
Other appointments included Francis Phiri as first deputy director of economic affairs, and Mchinji North-East MP Anthony Masamba as first deputy director of public relations, with Alumwira Mwenesongole serving as his deputy. Former Cabinet minister Madalitso Wirima was appointed director of recruitment while Sheikh Mtenje took up the role of first deputy director of social welfare.
Chakwera previously led MCP to victory in the June 23, 2020 court-sanctioned Fresh Presidential Election on a Tonse Alliance ticket, defeating then-president Peter Mutharika.
However, five years later, Mutharika outclassed Chakwera in the September 16 2025 presidential election.
