By Mercy Matonga:
The opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) has decided to maintain former State president Lazarus Chakwera as its leader.
The decision was made during a meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee (Nec), whose members met at the party’s headquarters in Lilongwe on Wednesday.
Chakwera attended the meeting.
According to party spokesperson Jessie Kabwila, the meeting offered them a chance to reflect on recent developments, notably MCP’s performance in the September 16, 2025 Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections.
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The presidential election outcome has culminated in the MCP—which emerged winner in the June 23, 2020 court-ordered presidential election, when it joined hands with other political parties under the banner of Tonse Alliance—returning to the opposition.
“We, as a party, sat down to see what went wrong and what we should do. Our performance in the last elections was not [premised] on Chakwera’s leadership; that is why we are maintaining him,” Kabwila said.
She added that the party remained united behind Chakwera, describing him as central to MCP’s ongoing transformation.
“We are going to investigate ourselves to find out what happened for us to fail in the recent elections. There might be several factors and, from there, we will see how we are going to move forward,” Kabwila said.
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The party mouthpiece further said the party was determined to rebuild trust among Malawians and ensure that its representatives in Parliament stand with the people.
“As we head to the National Assembly, MCP will make sure that the ruling Democratic Progressive Party fulfills the promises it made to Malawians,” Kabwila said.
On the question of who will represent the party as Leader of Opposition and Speaker, Kabwila revealed that Chakwera, as party president, would have the final say in selecting candidates for the positions.
“Our constitution gives power to the president to choose who to represent [us] and we believe Chakwera will give us names of capable candidates for the position,” she said.
Commenting on the issue, political analyst Wonderful Mkhutche said MCP needed stability of leadership and that Chakwera was the right individual.
“What happened with DPP can also happen with MCP. What MCP needs now is an honest assessment of their performance while [they were] in government since this is what has crucified the party.
“With the right people and strategy, MCP can bounce back,” Mkhutche said.
MCP, led by Chakwera, lost in the September 16 elections, which saw former president Peter Mutharika returning to power after he lost in the 2020 re-run elections.
Mutharika, who garnered 3,035,249 votes or 56.8 percent of the national vote, convincingly defeated Chakwera, who managed just 1,765,170 or 33 percent of the national vote.
