The Malawi Congress Party (MCP) convention was an interesting spectacle for neutrals. As with any other political election, such events humble people and put them in their right places. Elections offer the real owners of power–ordinary people–the chance to chide big men and women who may have become too drunk on opulence. When people cast their votes through secret ballot and the results are finally announced, you get to understand what Shakespeare meant in Macbeth–that “there is no art to find the mind’s construction in the face”.
The campaign for seats in the MCP’s National Executive Committee (Nec) revealed to us that there is more to politics than what we perceive. It is during this battle for positions that we realised that some of the people we trust as Cabinet ministers do not live in the same world we live in.
These are multi-millionaires who splashed their millions on delegates in order to get votes for some hot seats. Those of us with nothing in our pockets were left to wonder; if these people are spending this much, what do they stand to gain? Then it hit us–there is too much money in this country and having political power gives you access to such resources.
Such a realisation explains a lot of things in the politics of this country. The foremost thing for politicians when they are in power is to get their hands on money. This is why these people suddenly become rich when they finally enter government. Because money is at the centre of everything, politicians hardly trust each other and they go by the first rule of nature, which is self-preservation. As the philosopher Thomas Hobbes put it, in primitive societies, every human must look out for themselves first. This has become the golden rule in politics and we should not be surprised with political fallouts.
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Following the MCP convention, former State president Joyce Banda held a rally in her backyard in Zomba, where she announced that her People’s Party (PP) would run alone in the September 16 2025 general elections. Banda emphasised that the MCP made it clear that the Tonse Alliance would be dissolved as soon as the party held its elective convention. According to her, last week’s convention means there is no longer such a thing as Tonse Alliance.
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Banda’s party is not the first to leave this alliance. We have equally seen Alliance for Democracy and UTM Party, among others, exit the alliance, citing several reasons including loss of trust in the MCP. Whatever directions these parties take, what stands out is that daggers have been drawn for 2025.
As the MCP is preparing its house for the great battle in 2025, other political parties also need to get their rags together and prepare for war. Whining about how MCP did not respect the terms and conditions of their alliance will not help matters. As things stand now, one cannot dispute the fact that MCP will be the party to beat in next year’s elections.
They have the structures, they have the power and they have the resources. Above all, the party seems to be the most organised among all the others that are willing to contest in 2025. It is small things like discipline and focus that matter in elections. You can make all the noise out there, but if you have no sense of direction, there will be no light for you at the end of the tunnel.
There are some who may argue that the crumbling of Tonse Alliance, especially after the Chikangawa tragedy, negatively impacts MCP’s chances of regaining power next year. The thinking is that, with 50+1 as the rule, it will be very difficult for MCP to get a straight majority on its own.
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This may be true, but such also heavily depends on the strength of the other parties in contention. As we speak now, the MCP is enjoying their time in power because they have no opposition. When the Democratic Progressive Party lost power in 2020, they somehow lost it and have since been unable to stand firm as a force against their rivals. It was about time that they got back to their senses if they are to be of any significance in 2025. The same goes for UTM and all others still lost in the wilderness. The trumpet has been blown.
