UTM Party says its elective convention will proceed as planned despite concerns from party leader Michael Usi that the national executive committee (NEC) flouted procedures in setting up the date and nomination fees.
In an interview on Sunday, UTM Party spokesperson Felix Njawala said while he could not comment on Usi’s sentiments, the conference will go ahead as planned and all aspiring candidates have been conducting campaign through meetings with delegates.
He said: “ Even the [countrys’s] Vice-President [Usi] has been conducting campaign ahead of the convention so if any members of our NEC had concerns regarding the convention, they could have relayed them to the Vice-President.”
UTM announced last month that it would hold its convention on November 17 2024 in Mzuzu and the nomination fees for the position of president was set at K20 million.
But speaking in an interview with Zodiak Broadcasting Station television on Saturday evening, Usi said the UTM NEC did not meet to confirm the date, nomination fees and deadline for submission of nominations.
“The NEC does not know the people managing this convention or whether they have a contract with the party or not and if they are going to be paid. We needed to meet and discuss these logistics and the budget for the convention,” he said.
During the interview, USi dismissed suggestions that he was afraid of competition at the convention, saying he wants the party to hold the elective conference to end in-fighting.
“But I am concerned that if the party constitution is not followed and I go on to win the UTM presidency, the same people can go to court to challenge the results on the basis that there were irregularities in organising the convention,” he said.
The Nation reported that Usi on October 24 2025 directed that in view of the arrest of the party’s secretary general (SG) Patricia Kaliati, the NEC meeting scheduled for October 25 2024 to prepare for the conference be postponed.
However, the UTM Party NEC still met on the day at the party ’s headquarters in Lilongwe and deliberated on the upcoming convention, including confirmation of dates, venues and ratifying nomination fees.
Meanwhile, submission of nominations by aspirants is expected to end today.
So far, former Reserve Bank of Malawi governor Dalitso Kabamb e , UTM SG Patricia Kaliati and Engineer Matthews Mtumbuka have submitted their nominations for the position of president.
Usi, former minister of energy Newton Kambala and the party’s national director of youth Penjani Kalua are also on record as having expressed interest to contest for the position of president at the convention.
UTM Party has been embroiled in wrangles since the death of its founding president Saulos Chilima in a military plane crash on June 10 2024. Usi ascended to the position of president in line with the party’s constitution. However, factions have emerged within the party which have at times publicly contradicted each other.
