JB will go it alone—PP
Erstwhile governing People’s Party (PP) says its leader Joyce Banda will be on the presidential ballot in the May 21 2019 Tripartite Elections and will not play s
econd fiddle in any electoral coalition or alliance.
PP spokesperson Ackson Kalaile-Banda said in an interview yesterday that JB, as the former head of State is widely known by her initials, will be on the 2019 ballot as a presidential candidate following her election at the party’s convention in August.
He said: “Currently, we are working as People’s Party, which means if elections are held today, Dr. Joyce Banda will be on the ballot. She is our presidential candidate who was duly elected at the convention. All party structures should also know about this development.”
Kalaile-Banda said PP was still open to alliances with other parties sharing the same mission and vision for the country.
His sentiments come barely a week after PP confirmed being in discussions with opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and newly formed UTM for a possible electoral coalition.
During the May 20 2014 Tripartite Elections, Banda, who was an incumbent, having ascended to the presidency in line with constitutional order in April 2012, finished a distant third with 1 056 236 votes or 20.2 percent. President Peter Mutharika—standing on a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) ticket with Vice-President Saulos Chilima as his running mate on the ballot paper—won with 1 904 99, representing 36.4 percent while MCP’s Lazarus Chakwera polled 27.8 percent with 1 455 880.
In terms of parliamentary representation, in the 2014 elections, DPP won 50 seats, MCP 48, PP 26 and independents 52. United Democratic Front (UDF), which formed the first multiparty administration in 1994, won 14 seats with Aford and the now-defunct Chipani Cha Pfuko getting one seat each.
Reacting to PP’s position that Banda would be the presidential candidate in any coalition, political analysts have warned the former president, saying her chances are slim following her loss in 2014 and her prolonged absence after leaving the country for a self-imposed exile from July 2014 to April this year.
Mzuzu-based political commentator Emily Mkamanga said while Banda’s ambition to contest as presidential candidate was good in terms of fulfilling the 50-50 Campaign, her popularity and trust among the electoral have waned.
She said: “She can do it, but chances are not good for her. She overstayed overseas, so it was like a party without a leader. People thought that she abandoned the party. Unless a miracle happens, time is not on her side. An alliance can be good for her.”
However, a recent survey conducted by Zomba-based Institute of Public Opinion and Research (Ipor) carried out between August and September this year showed that JB is the most trusted political leader. The survey also predicted that DPP would lead with MCP trailing second and UTM of Chilima third.
In an earlier interview on the possibility of an MCP, PP and UTM electoral combination, political scientist Ernest Thindwa, who is based at the University of Malawi’s Chancellor College, doubted the possibility of the three parties working together.
He said: “I can say that the potential of winning the election is big if MCP, PP and UTM work together in an alliance because their partnership can stop vote fragmentation if they decide to field one presidential candidate.
“However, this cannot be achieved easily on the part of MCP and UTM who, in my view, may have ego problems to surrender the presidential berth to each other. Those battles might even go all the way to ministerial positions.”
But another political analyst, Humphrey Mvula, said the three parties could strike a partnership based on people’s expectations and common agenda.
He said: “The biggest advantage is that all of them seem to be driving a common agenda of trying to recover the economy, end corruption, job creation, improvement of farming and electricity, among others.
“The difference with the past elections is that currently the political discourse is that of change which all these parties are propagating. But I can say that what only stands in the way of this convergence of opinion is greed.”
MCP spokesperson Maurice Munthali, who earlier confirmed discussions between his party and UTM and PP on a possible alliance, yesterday said the MCP president only talked with UTM and PP leaders in his personal capacity as fellow political leaders, saying the country’s oldest political party would contest the elections alone.
In September this year, Chilima, who is being promoted as UTM presidential candidate in the elections after ditching DPP in June this year, met Banda at her residence in Zomba. However, Chilima’s office said the meeting with Banda was a courtesy call on the former president as the Vice-President was in Zomba to address a UTM rally. n
