The Malawi Congress Party (MCP) says its talks with the United Democratic Front (UDF) on an electoral alliance ahead of the September 16 2025 General Election are at an advanced stage.
MCP deputy secretary general Gerald Kazembe said in an interview yesterday that his party opened up for electoral alliance talks with several political parties, but talks with UDF seem to be promising.
He said besides the electoral alliance, the two parties are also discussing issues that will strengthen the two parties, adding that the outcome of the talks will be announced before the presentation of presidential nomination papers to the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC).
Said Kazembe: “We can confirm that we are in talks with UDF and those talks are confidential and will be announced at the right time should they bear fruit.
“But should we go into an alliance with the United Democratic Front, we wouldn’t be competing for MP [Members of Parliament] seats with UDF. We will complement each other where one party is stronger than the other.”
MCP’s sentiments come at a time there are reports that UDF president Atupele Muluzi was expected to meet President Lazarus Chakwera in Nigeria to finalise the electoral alliance talks.
However, Kazembe declined to comment on the matter saying anything involving Chakwera meetings is beyond MCP.
“If the President is talking to honourable Muluzi, those are private discussions,” he said.
Last week, Muluzi accused former president Peter Mutharika whom he partnered in the court-sanctioned fresh presidential election in 2020 that he is “too old” and not fit to contest as a presidential candidate in the September 16 General Election. Mutharika is the DPP torchbearer in the election, and has already collected nomination papers after paying the K10 million fees.
Muluzi was not available for comment yesterday, while UDF spokesperson Dyson Jangiya asked for more time before commenting on the matter.
Weighing in, political scientists Ernest Thindwa and Boniface Dulani doubted if UDF will make a huge impact on the alliance saying its influence in the Eastern Region has declined.
Thindwa noted that an alliance with UDF is an indication that MCP lacks confidence to win the general election alone.
He said: “Now the question is, can UDF really add votes to MCP, because in 2009 MCP and UDF worked together to unseat president Bingu? And it was Bakili Muluzi the senior who campaigned for MCP and they did not succeed.
“So, Atupele Muluzi has that political clout this time to mobilise the votes for MCP particularly in the Eastern Region which he is targeting?”
Dulani also doubted if a MCP/UDF alliance will enable the two parties to secure 50 percent-plus-one vote.
In this year’s general election, a candidate needs to reach the 50+1 threshold to win the presidency as interpreted by the High Court of Malawi sitting as the Constitutional Court in 2020 and upheld by the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal.
