Mutharika cancels campaign rallies
President Peter Mutharika yesterday cancelled a whistle-stop tour of Salima and Dedza districts as part of the campaign for the May 21 Tripartite Elections.
A statement signed by Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) Lloyd Muhara said Mutharika, who is governing Democratic Progressive Party candidate in the elections, had postponed the campaign tour due to “other urgent matters”.
The statement, however, did not explain the nature of the engagements that had prevented the President from fulfilling the campaign tour.
Asked to elaborate why Mutharika had cancelled the trip, State House spokesperson Mgeme Kalirani refused to comment, referring us back to Muhara.
Muhara’s phone could not be reached on several attempts.
Mutharika was scheduled to conduct DPP campaign rallies at Salima Boma, Katelera and Ngodzi trading centres as well as Mtakataka in Dedza.
He and his six contenders in the elections have been on the campaign trail in search of votes in the elections which analysts have predicted will be highly contested.
His main contenders for the presidency who were on the road yesterday include United Democratic Front (UDF) presidential candidate Atupele Muluzi, who held a rally in Mzuzu; UTM Party’s Saulos Chilima in Zomba while Malawi Congress Party (MCP) leader Lazarus Chakwera was in Lilongwe rural.
According to the Malawi Electoral Commission, 6.8 million people nationwide registered to vote in this year’s elections.
