APM names UTM, others as potential suitors

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) president Peter Mutharika has mentioned UTM Party as one of the possible suitors for his party to boost chances of winning the September 16 2025 General Elections.

In his opening speech at the DPP Convention in Blantyre yesterday, he also mentioned Alliance for Democracy (Aford) and United Democratic Front (UDF) as other potential partners. In the run up to the court-sanctioned June 23 2020 fresh presidential election, DPP also partnered UDF but lost to the Tonse Alliance led by the pair of Malawi Congress Party (MCP) leader Lazarus Chakwera and former UTM Party president Saulos Chilima, now deceased.

Mutharika, 84, told delegates that the Tonse Alliance, which has seen several parties including UTM and People’s Party recently severing ties, must prepare to see itself outside government in 2025 while DPP, UDF, UTM Party and Aford will bask in glory.

“Now that we have noticed how others have failed, the glory will be shared among the DPP, UTM Party, Aford and UDF,” he said.

His sentiments compelled delegates, senior party officials and supporters to interrupt his speech as they chanted songs of praise for the DPP leader and danced for close to five minutes.

Mutharika, who in a preamble to his speech asked the gathering to observe a minute of silence in honour of Vice-President Saulos Chilima and eight others who perished in a military plane crash in Chikangawa on June 10 this year, said the DPP has the capacity to govern the country again.

He said Malawians are enduring misery amid a deteriorating socio-economic status which only his party can manage to turn around. He added that DPP has rebranded and is committed to correct its past mistakes for the sake of the country’s development.

Further, Mutharika, a law professor who took over DPP leadership after the death of his brother Bingu wa Mutharika in April 2012 and propelled it to victory in the 2014 Tripartite Elections after two years in opposition, said his rebranded party brings hope to Malawians and that it is committed to unity as well as youth and women empowerment.

When asked to comment on Mutharika’s sentiments pertaining to the electoral alliance, UTM Party spokesperson Felix Njawala said: “Let us wait and see what 2025 can do”.

In a separate interview, UDF spokesperson Yusuf Mwawa said it is too early to comment on the alliance talk. He said UDF is at present focusing on consolidating its structures.

“Electoral alliances are a subject for the future with any party that has the same values and good vehicle to serve Malawians to deal with socio-economic issues facing Malawians,” he said.

We tried to reach out to Aford president Enock Chihana but he did not pick up our phone calls and neither did he respond to our message sent on WhatsApp messenger, likewise with the party’s deputy spokesperson Saulos Thindwa.

But reacting to Mutharika’s sentiments, political analyst Ernest Thindwa said holding all factors constant, a possible DPP alliance with the three political parties would enhance the party’s chance of getting back into power.

But he said it will, however, take more than an electoral alliance to unseat the incumbent administration.

Said Thindwa: “But certainly an electoral alliance is a significant boost to DPPs chances to wrestle power”.

In a separate interview, another political analyst Wonderful Mkhutche shared similar sentiments, saying if DPP secures an electoral alliance with the three political parties, it would win against MCP.

However, he argued that this would depend on the packaging of their message and trust they can provide to voters.

Mkhutche also cautioned UTM on electoralalliances, saying: “However, I would advise UTM Party to go on its own for next year’s elections. The party has to build itself into a formidable force and not reduce itself to an alliance partner. The party should front two good candidates.

“Should they [UTM Party] lose next year, the party will have five years to spread itself across the country. After all, in 2030, DPP will have a new face and so will MCP.”

He said UTM Party’s candidates will bank on political familiarity and further stated that should everything be planned to detail, the party can win the elections in 2030.

Meanwhile, voting was underway for other national executive committee positions as we went to press. Mutharika went unopposed as president.

The DPP was booted out of government in June 2020 after losing to Tonse Alliance, which at the time was an alliance of nine political parties, including MCP, Aford and UTM Party which recently announced its decision to exit the alliance.

The fresh presidential election which the DPP lost was sanctioned by the courts after MCP and UTM Party had challenged the May 2019 presidential poll citing numerous irregularities; hence, the High Court sitting as a Constitutional Court nullified.

DPP has since ignored recommendations from its functional review committee, instituted last year, which suggested abolition of regional vice-presidents, among others.

The committee, which was headed by Machinga Likwenu legislator Bright Msaka, at the time had established that DPP supporters had lost its trust and popularity in the party and that they perceived that the Central Committee, led by Mutharika, was not working in the interest of the party.