Of Malawi Congress Party convention, the candidates and elections 2014
The convention that the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) will be holding from April 27-April 29 is the sole determinant of whether we will be ruled by the very same parties in 2014 or whether a significant positive change led by the revitalized MCP will ensue come 2014. It is from this perspective that we cannot afford to do nothing about the convention and the election in 2014.
The contestants there appear to comprise of former cabinet minister Jodder Kanjere, Malawi Assemblies of God president Rev Dr Lazarus Chakwera, current secretary general Chris Daza, former chief Justice Lovemore Munlo, former MCP secretary general Beston Majoni, former Farmers Union of Malawi (Fum) President Felix Jumbe and former MCP director of political affairs Eston Kakhome. Among these contestants one must be chosen to lead the party and whoever that is will also lead the party in 2014 as a national presidential candidate.
The voting pattern in Malawi elections since 2014 has been tribal and regional, and the slight changes we saw in 2009 were due to the fact that we had just two parties that contested, and also the opposition parties had sinned a great deal in terms of policy and behaviour.
But even in those elections, the pattern of votes was still regional in nature. The DPP did much better in the North due to the composition of the party that time plus the developments Bingu had done in the North at the time. The centre swayed in his favour relative to past elections because the centre was tired of being outside the government and Bingu had done some projects there too. The South of course was his home town and there was a vacuum in the eastern belt so he seized it. But even those elections, the strengths of the MCP were at the centre and also had considerable backing in the east due to the partnership with UDF.
Come 2013, the Bingu factor at the centre and north have vanished because of his tribal stance he took post 2009. Alongside his comrades in his home village, he side-lined, not only the North, but the centre and the eastern region too. The people of Malawi in those areas cannot forget him, they more importantly associate the DPP with tribal leadership and alienation. They cannot vote for the party, or any members of his tribe in any party any time soon.
The implication of this is that voting Munlo into the seat of the presidency in MCP would be a serious mistake, not because Munlo was part of Bingu’s and PP governments, but because, the Lomwe rulers are analogous to tribal alienation and inequality at present. In any case any well-meaning delegate who wants to use and not waste his vote and wants the MCP in power in 2014 must not vote for Munlo at the convention- If Munlo turns out to be the leader of MCP, the south will not vote for MCP anyway because more than 2/3 already will go to JB and Peter Mutharika, the centre and the north will also not vote for MCP because of the fear of elevating the ‘pro-tribal alienation figure’ as they now consider him.
Joda Kanjere, Edwin Banda, Daza, Jumbe are great people who unfortunately have weaknesses that will make it impossible for the MCP to win too at the national level. The rest except Jumbe will be de-campaigned heavily by the PP and DPP machine based on past MCP legacy which is often misrepresented by the DPP and PP propagandists while targeting individuals….whereas Jumbe is just great but too limited in credentials for presidency at this opportune time.
The man to vote for there at the convention if we want to win the elections in 2014 is Dr Lazarus Chakwera. Born in the mighty and populous Lilongwe (where MCP has a large base), he has real relatives at all districts at the centre, in crucial parts of the south and north. He will be accepted at the centre and he will not be vulnerable to the smear campaign by PP and DPP or UDF, based on his past with the MCP….Dr Chakwera is also a man of deed and will, while involving everybody, take the nation down a path of great economic milestones.
Notice that this is the only chance that lovers of this country have, to correct the wrongs of the recent government in terms of all policies that matter. The south is divided along tribes-so the division is incurable in the short term (Muluzi and Peter cannot share power and nor JB and Peter). The North has realized the limits of PP and DPP, and the importance and merits of the MCP under Dr L. Chakwera are clear. All these combined leave Chakwera and the MCP with more than 50% of the vote in 2014 as the south will have to share the cake in 3, the north in 3 and the centre is a whole, unless we make a foolish mistake of betraying our own cause!
My requests as we progress with the quest for the inevitable change are as follows:
1) If you are a pro MCP working anywhere, in Malawi, read this, translate it into Chichewa or a language that can be better understood by your village members.
2) Print the translated version and call any delegate for the MCP convention that you know and tell them the importance of voting for Dr Chakwera. The importance is as above. If we don’t have Chakwera , MCP will lose again and we will have the same childish parties. Share this with your village members to ensure they are not hoodwinked again.
3) Tell your neighbour of the birth of this opportunity. If you find your neighbour to be closed to this opportunity, leave him and work with those who love the MCP and Malawi, and carry forward. It’s often the case that we will have laggards in any change/upheaval.
These are the first 3 operational tenets that should guide the triumph of the MCP and Malawi.
Thank you. And check this space again.
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