Folks, Atupele Muluzi was re-elected UDF president after running unopposed during the party’s elective convention held this week at the Comesa Hall in Blantyre.
Muluzi, 46, effortlessly joined President Lazarus Chakwera, 69, of the ruling MCP as well as former presidents Joyce Banda, 74, of People’s Party and Peter Mutharika, 84, of DPP who were recently also elected unopposed as torchbearers for their parties in the 2025 elections.
With only 346 days before eligible Malawian voters elect the next President, members of Parliament and Ward Councillors, it is important to emphasise the importance of free and fair elections in advancing democratic governance systems in any country.
This is why I urge the government, political parties, politicians and all Malawians to follow all best practices for the prevention and/or mitigation of election-related tensions ahead of this vote.
I say this because we are already witnessing some ugly political confrontations and hostile innuendoes involving politicians from the ruling and opposition sides and the Malawi Police Service has already started responding to such cases by arresting some people over alleged violence incitement. The law enforcers should arrest real or suspected perpetrators threatening the country’s peace regardless of their political affiliations.
Remaining with ugly political innuendos and confrontations, we also heard the opposition DPP the other day accusing the National Registration Bureau (NRB) of allegedly favouring the Central Region (MCP’s traditional stronghold) in registering people for national IDS. Remember, the national ID is now recognised exclusively as the only valid proof of voter eligibility following recent amendments to the electoral laws by the National Assembly.
There have also been numerous unsupported claims of vote rigging plans against the ruling party and these are just some of the pressing issues facing the electorate as the countdown continues to what promises to be yet another tightly contested poll in Malawi’s recent history of elections.
The 2025 presidential vote is widely seen as another test for the governing MCP and its leadership after falling out with some of its key political partners that jointly founded the Tonse Alliance ahead of its victory in the June 2020 court-sanctioned Fresh Presidential Election.
Tonse Alliance emerged from at least nine opposition parties to win the previous presidential election with Chakwera as the torchbearer and former vice-president the late Saulos Chilima of UTM part as his running mate. The duo defeated Mutharika and Atupele who contested on the DPP/UDF alliance.
So the forthcoming election has a lot of pride at stake. First, there have been repeated declarations by MCP high-ranking officials that they will form the next government again because of Chakwera’s growing popularity on the ground. They further state that the President has delivered in many areas of our economy and the majority of Malawians are ‘happy’ with the current regime.
Another challenge facing MCP is its protracted scoffing in public by some people who say the party failed to win elections since the dawn of modern multiparty and that without former vice-president the late Saulos Chilima, Aford’s Enoch Chihana and Timothy Mtambo and many others, MCP could not have won power any time soon after losing its 31-year grip on the same in 1994 to Bakili Muluzi’s UDF when Malawi held its first democratic elections under the current multiparty dispensation.
But in my opinion, the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) remains at the centre of such political euphoria, as has been the case in all previous general elections. MEC holds the key to delivering credible elections despite the entire political noise and clamour that will come.
By the way, MEC has an uphill task to safeguard the credibility of the 2025 vote and the immediate past Commission will remain a reference point in the minds of many Malawians and election observers for obvious reasons.
Without a doubt, the previous Commission managed the 2020 Fresh Presidential Election well and it is up to the current team to use that as a progressive yardstick or not. Oops, I digressed….
Another concern that should be bothering MEC and all electoral stakeholders now, including political parties, is the high voter apathy recorded in recent by-elections. These teams must, therefore, intensify awareness to encourage all eligible voters to register to vote next year.
Remember that any drop in the number of registered vote r s can pain f u l l y disadvantage potential winners on the ballot in 2025.
So, plan to register when registration opens in your area to vote in 2025!!
