Malawi Congress Party (MCP) has backed some of its officials drumming up support for President Lazarus Chakwera’s candidature in the 2025 general elections, saying they are free to do so in a democracy.

In a written response on Monday, MCP publicity secretary the Reverend Maurice Munthali said the party will hold its convention in 2024 and will not block any member from challenging Chakwera.

He was responding to The Nation enquiry about the party’s position on whether the declaration of Chakwera’s candidature had been sanctioned by the party.

Munthali said: “We are going to hold a convention in 2024. Anybody within the Malawi Congress Party family is free and constitutionally mandated to challenge the incumbent party President Dr Lazarus McCar thy Chakwera during that indaba. That is what democracy entails.

Munthali: That is democracy

“The Malawi Congress Party takes cognisance of the constitutional guidance that a presidential candidate is elected by the National Convention. That notwithstanding, people are free to open up and propose what they individually feel could be good for the party.”

He said the party had no problems with the sentiments made by some of its members, including first deputy secretary general Catherine Gotani Hara, who is also Speaker of Parliament.

Munthali said the members were free to express their views, opinions and tastes as provided for in the country’s Constitution.

He said: “In actual fact, such freedoms are healthy as any attempt to gag the same will only be negating the very tenets of the governance system Malawi chose to pursue.”

Munthali said the party has not pressed any panic button as it did not see any insensitivity in the members’ “heartfelt remarks which must be understood as domestic aspirations”, thus, there was no cause for a political alarm.

But the endorsement comes against a background of the existing nine political-party Tonse Alliance which powered Chakwera to the presidency during the court-sanctioned Fresh Presidential Election on June 23 2020.

It also comes when there is a veil of secrecy on a purported agreement Chakwera has with Vice-President Saulos Chilima whose UTM Party is considered as a key partner in the alliance.

In justifying the endorsement, Munthali said the party members were not in any way talking about the existing Tonse Alliance, but were only dreaming about the 2025 elections that have nothing to do with the current administration.

He said: “In actual fact, individual members in each party are at liberty to propose their choice of a candidate anytime they feel like doing so without having to undermine the powers invested in the respective national conventions which are a final authority when it comes to choosing candidates.”

Presently, most of the Tonse Alliance partners are yet to declare their 2025 political direction except for Alliance for Democracy, who already declared it will field its own presidential candidate.

Gift Sambo, a lecturer in the Department of Political and Administrative Studies at University of Malawi, concurred with Munthali, saying in an open and democratic society citizens have the right to express their preferences in terms of candidates.

“It is difficult if not impossible to avoid such scenarios. The present political dispensation theoretically provides no room for the culture of fear and secrecy. Hence, people should be allowed to express their preferences without unnecessary constraints,” he said.

However, Sambo said his main concern in this context was that such games are ignited at the elite level at the expense of the rank and file members of the parties.

He said: “This reinforces fear that despite embracing a people-centred mode of governance, our parties are yet to be extricated from elitism. The context in the ruling party is different from the scenario in the opposition.”

Sambo added that it is difficult to have a free and fair convention within a ruling party because challengers have no choice but to compete against the incumbent president who is capable of making believable promises owing to his strong attachment to the State apparatus.

He said that was the reason why unlike in the opposition Democratic Progressive Party where contestants are already known, the window was not yet ripe for challengers in MCP to publicly come out and express their desire to compete with Chakwera.

He said Chakwera’s silence on the endorsements was well calculated to provide him an opportunity to learn whether he has the needed vote of confidence among various factions within his party.

Political and governance c ommen t a t o r M a r t i n Chiphwanya said while individual party members were at liberty to support any candidate of their choice within the party, such endorsements were premature and have the potential of creating unnecessary tension.

He said considering the fact that Chakwera was still the incumbent and enjoys incumbency advantage; the endorsement may potentially put him at an advantage over other hopefuls.

Chiphwanya said: “To be blunt, the early endorsements do not level the playing field for the other hopefuls. The fact that the endorsements are coming from senior party officials may stop other candidates from coming out in the open.

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