President Lazarus Chakwera has submitted a nomination form, confirming his interest in the position of Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president at the party’s convention scheduled for August 8 to 10 in Lilongwe.
Chakwera paid K5 million upon the submission of the nomination form, with the process completed last week after acquiring all relevant signatures.
The committee’s chairperson, Kezzie Msukwa, confirmed the development in an interview yesterday, stating that Chakwera has followed all necessary procedures.
Among these, the form was signed by constituency and district chairpersons before being sealed by regional chairpersons.
Msukwa said Chakwera collected the form at the party’s regional office for the centre. As of yesterday, no one had submitted a nomination form challenging him.
“I can confirm that State President Lazarus Chakwera collected the form, filled it in and submitted it to us for scrutiny.
“He has set a good example as he has not used shortcuts. He went to the constituency committee chairman who signed and then to district and regional levels,” Msukwa said.
He further revealed that the convention committee has decided to shift the submission deadline from July 16 to 20 to allow those interested more time to collect the forms.
The committee also extended the deadline to cover the recent break, as the country was mourning Vice President Saulos Chilima, who died alongside eight others in a plane crash that occurred in Chikangawa Forest on June 10.
Others who appear on the list of those who have collected forms include current secretary general (SG), Eisenhower Mkaka, Minister of Finance Simplex Chithyola Banda and former presidential adviser on strategy and manifesto implementation Chris Chaima Banda.
All these are eyeing the SG seat.
Chithyola confirmed in a separate interview that he had collected the nomination form, deposited the fee and was ready for submission.
Speaker of Parliament Catherine Gotani Hara, Member of Parliament Kezzie Msukwa, Information Minister Moses Kunkuyu and Vitumbiko Mumba, who are vying for the position of first deputy president, said they would collect their forms and submit them this week.
Meanwhile, Msukwa has asked aspirants to refrain from campaigning through castigation, stating that this violates the party’s code of conduct.
Msukwa warned that if found guilty of violating the code of conduct, the penalty would be withdrawal from the race.
University of Malawi-based political analyst Ernest Thindwa said it is normal for a party in government to have many people competing for different positions as they seek political power.
Thindwa, however, urged the convention committee to be cautious and ensure democratic principles are followed to prevent divisions after the convention.
“If people are given a chance to contest different positions freely, that will be good for the party.
The committee should recognise that democratic principles are crucial within the party, particularly during the convention, as it sets the foundation for the party,” Thindwa said.
Recently, Chakwera expressed interest in contesting as Malawi’s president at the September 2025 elections, saying it would all depend on his party giving him the authority at the convention.
He also asked the party to allow anyone who would want to compete against him during the convention.
Meanwhile, one Eddie Banda, who claims to be have been an MCP member since 1964, has dragged the party to court over its National Executive Committee (Nec)’s directive to put limitations on who can seek a Nec position.
