MCP trimming candidates
The Malawi Congress Party (MCP) says it is in the process of trimming the number of presidential candidates for the forthcoming convention, incumbent president John Tembo has said.
Tembo said the party’s national executive committee (NEC) has agreed that there are too many presidential candidates and the politburo will report back to him on Tuesday.
Currently, there are 12 candidates vying for the position of president.
In an interview with Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS) Tiuzeni Zoona programme on Sunday, Tembo said he suggested stepping down, but only seven of the 25 members at a meeting last week agreed to his suggestion.
He denied reports that he is imposing himself as a candidate, saying the NEC and the criteria committee is scrutinising names of possible candidates.
Tembo refused to commit on the announced dates by the party’s spokesperson Jolly Kalelo, who he described as childish for sending reports of the NEC meeting to the media while it was in session.
Last week Kalelo told the media that the party will hold the convention on August 9 to 11, but Tembo said NEC will issue a statement on confirmed dates and venue.
The party’s scrutiny committee recently said aspirants should have served as MCP members for not less than five years to be presidential candidates.
It greatly saddens many Malawians that strong parties which would form and perform in the government have party executives that are objects of individual selfish interests of political leaders to achieve the would be impossible ambitions. The wheels of history in politics have turned for the propagation and strengthening of democratic values and hence prevents the implications of such acts that stand as barriers to the democratic course in all parties and government. It sounds good to the MCP executive and its leader now to announce such an act of reducing competitors for the presidential candidate convention but very unfortunate to the electorate. By trimming the candidates what does MCP and its leader want to achieve in this matter? Is it financial problems or are there fewer voters only enough for the preferred candidates? Secondly will this trimming be random or targeting specific individuals who might be a threat to those “already chosen party leaders” and who does it the electorate, MCP president or the Executive? Trimming presidential candidate competitors does not only forecast the loss during elections but also the death of democracy in that the wish of the people to select and invest in the leader of that particular party of their choice is overridden. In many circumstances people have said we love MCP but the obstacle for us to vote for it is its presidential candidate which would clearly be expressed at the convention when that electorate would have chosen the presidential candidate in advance of the parliamentary and presidential elections. But in this case the rights and freedoms of the people are being interfered right from the party level. The window for MCP to do well in politics is to open up to all who are interested to join, contribute to its development and search for an opportunity to make democracy vibrant from that level if they are to win the elections and form the government. There could be a gross misunderstanding as well in the party where the selection of the wanted leader in democracy is based on the facts that each would compete having his/her own campaign tactics and ways of winning elections which are very vital to the electorate to decide by themselves which leader seems the best and suitable to them and for our country among the presidential candidate competitors. Whatever the wishes may be, Malawi as a country does not want to see any political party with “forever” leader. When such leaders persist in their parties the voters turn up during parliamentary and presidential elections might also be affected because even if literacy rate is still low Malawians appreciate democracy and the role it plays in the decision for them to have a strong, determined and farsighted leader to take this country to another level of development and economic growth. But this trimming does not favour this selection of leaders instead MCP wants to utilize it to secure and maintain the old thinking of “forever” leader as it is primitively thought by certain individuals in Zimbabwe, a country that is well known for rights and freedom violation today. So MCP may the black cock arouse you from asleep to prevent you from introducing undemocratic values in our society.