Undemocratic retrogressive party

Not a day passes without Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members dragging each other in the mud. The internal squabbles within, emanating from the party’s unclear succession plan, have gone on for too long. One wishes DPP used the same energy to offer checks and balances on the excesses of the current government’s leadership.

In the past weeks, some members of the party attended disciplinary hearings for ‘disrespecting’ the party president. Such a laughable accusation. But anyway, the whole DPP is a joke of a party.

Much as differing views within the party are good for intraparty democracy, what is happening in DPP is retrogressive and undemocratic for a party that calls itself ‘democratic.’ And by extension, it is a reflection of what DPP is capable of doing if, God forbid!, it wrestles the power from President Lazarus Chakwera next year. Malawians should expect intolerance and leaders who are unwilling to hear differing views or else they get punished.

What is happening in the DPP is also a reflection of almost all political parties in Malawi. The lack of clear succession plans continues to fuel intraparty conflicts. This is exacerbated by two major issues, party ownership—where a political party is personal to holder ‘business venture’ of a particular individual or family and because of party leaders who despite outliving their usefulness, want to cling on to power.

To be honest, Malawi doesn’t need Peter Mutharika again; the five torturous years were enough. However, the man cannot be easily moved out of DPP because the party was founded by his brother. The DPP is a Mutharika family venture; hence, anyone trying to dislodge a Mutharika will be shipped out by any means necessary.

In any democracy, political parties form a critical pillar for the entrenchment of democratic culture and practice. Political parties add value to democratisation at the national level; hence, they ought to embrace tolerance and internal democracy. That’s why the squabbles within the DPP should worry us all because it is a government in waiting.

The consequences of a lack of tolerance and intra-party democracy are many. A lack of conflict management mechanism within the party has the potential to produce undesirable results. You cannot have one person deciding the fate of a party that has structures across the country.

One can only hope that the DPP and by extension, other parties with the same mind as the DPP, will allow those that do not agree with the party’s president to fairly compete at the convention and not limit the people’s choices to a few that are in good books with the party’s president.