Former president Joyce Banda has declared that she will seek a fresh mandate as leader of the former governing People’s Party (PP).
Banda, who was president between April 2012 and 2014, said the party would hold a convention in September this year.
PP is a member of the governing Tonse Alliance, whose torchbearer Lazarus Chakwera represented it in the June 23 2020 court-ordered presidential election.
Speaking after a rally she held at Area 23 Police Ground in Lilongwe, Banda said the party is organising a convention at which delegates will elect officials to serve in various positions.
“I am already the president of the party. I am going to the convention of the party and anybody is free to stand with me [and] to take over if they win.
“I don’t know who will lead the party towards the elections. The person who wins at the convention will lead the party but, at the end of the day, we have to find partners who align with us,” Banda said.
PP partnered with MCP and others to form the Tonse Alliance.
Recently, PP spokesperson Ackson Kalaile Banda told The Daily Times that the Tonse Alliance has served its purpose, despite facing some challenges along the way.
“The Tonse government has faced a lot of challenges and hasn’t been able to fulfill some of its promises due to several factors such as Covid and other calamities along the way,” Kalaile said.
