By Isaac Salima:
As days for national elective conventions for the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and governing Malawi Congress Party (MCP) are drawing near, there are indications that incumbent presidents may go unopposed.
As at now, there are no challengers for MCP president Lazarus Chakwera and DPP leader Peter Mutharika.
MCP announced that it would hold a convention between August 17 and 18 2024 while MCP’s indaba is slated for August 8 to 10 2024.
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Chakwera recently submitted his nomination forms to confirm that he would contest for the position.
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However, according to MCP publicist Ezekiel Ching’oma, as of Monday, “no one else has obtained a presidential nomination form”.
Ching’oma added that the submission of nomination forms ends on July 20 2024.
Such is also the case at the DPP, where no one has, so far, expressed interest in challenging Mutharika.
“The person I know [who is] standing for DPP is Professor Peter Mutharika. I do not know if there is anyone else. I have not been furnished with that information but, probably by next week, we will address the press to disclose all the information,” party spokesperson Shadric Namalomba said.
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This is coming at a time the former governing People’s Party (PP) has announced that party president Joyce Banda would seek re-election during the party’s convention, which is slated for September this year.
PP spokesperson Ackson Kalaile said the former State president has already collected nomination papers.
He further indicated that a horde of aspiring candidates had collected nomination papers.
These developments have not surprised political and good governance analyst Chimwemwe Tsitsi, who said it is rare for incumbent leaders to be challenged.
“As long as the incumbent has another term to go and has also expressed interest in a position, it is very unlikely that they can be challenged. As for the DPP, it seems people are not comfortable with the idea of having another leader.
“As for MCP, as long as the incumbent has expressed interest in contesting [as president], I do not see anyone challenging him,” Tsitsi said.
Another analyst George Chaima echoed Tsitsi’s sentiments.
“I am not surprised with this. For MCP, people would be uncomfortable to challenge Chakwera, him being the President of the country. This is also the case with DPP because Mutharika is considered as the president who has been holding the party together. It also seems like he did not want anybody to challenge him,” Chaima said.
All positions are up for grabs in the parties.
