Malawi Congress Party (MCP) national executive committee (NEC) has resolved to retain the country’s immediate-past president Lazarus Chakwera at the helm of the party, effectively dismissing calls from some sections to replace him.
MCP publicity secretary Jessie Kabwila, speaking in an interview yesterday after the meeting held on Wednesday in Lilongwe, said the party’s NEC met to conduct a post-mortem following its loss in the September 16 General Election.
She said the meeting resolved to commission a consultant to assess factors that may have led to the immediate-past governing party’s loss to enable it prepare well for the 2030 elections.
Said Kabwila: “As a party, we are saying that we cannot correct ourselves and that is why we have commissioned an independent body to do that research for us. I can’t reveal the name of the one who is doing that job for us.
“At the meeting, all party structures agreed to support the leadership of Dr Lazarus Chakwera as the party’s president. Dr Chakwera is still the party’s leader, he is not going anywhere.”
She alleged that there was “a lot of scheming” in the election as evidenced by so many cases currently in court.
The MCP NEC’s decision was held on the expiry of a 14-day ultimatum that some disgruntled members led by former Kasungu West legislator Alex Major had issued for Chakwera to call for an emergency convention and hand over leadership.
In his letter to the party, Major claimed that 42 MCP district chairpersons were in support of the revolt, but The Nation only managed to confirm with one chairperson Rappozo Phiri of Limbe district while Zomba district chairperson Ziyad Machemba faulted the move.
In his reaction, Major in an interview yesterday said NEC does not have constitutional powers to make a resolution on the party presidency because doing so is contravening Section 31 of the party’s constitution.
“To us, our demands still stand and the 14 days we gave the president elapsed on Wednesday. We will wait for a formal communication from the party before making our next move,” he said.
Political Science Association spokesperson Mavuto Bamusi said the
post-election period presents MCP with a “potential leadership crisis” while political analyst George Chaima said he believes that some people within the MCP ranks are hungry for power.
Chakwera, a former Malawi Assemblies of God president, was elected MCP president at a convention in August 2013 where delegates rejected the candidacy of then party president and veteran politician John Tembo.
He first contested for the country’s presidency in 2014 when he finished second to Peter Mutharika of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). In his second bid in 2019, Chakwera also finished as runner-up to Mutharika.
However, a five-judge panel of the High Court of Malawi sitting as the Constitutional Court granted Chakwera and his co-petitioner the late Saulos Chilima of UTM Party their prayer for nullification of the presidential election over irregularities and a call for a fresh vote.
In the June 23 2020 Fresh Presidential Election, Chakwera, who picked Chilima as his running mate, triumphed on a ticket backed by nine political parties under the Tonse Alliance, outclassing Mutharika in the process.
However, five years later and with Tonse disintegrated, Malawi Electoral Commission chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja declared Mutharika as the winner of the September 16 General Election presidential race with 3 035 249 votes against 1 765 170 for Chakwera. Mutharika secured 56.8 percent of the vote and crossed the 50-percent-plus-one threshold required for an outright win.
