Thank you for voting me MP, MCP’s Sitolo tells Nsanje Lalanje
Opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) MP –elect for Nsanje Lalanje, Lawrence Sitolo, has thanked voters for putting their trust in him in the fourth time polls luck and pledged to work as hard as possible to represent the constituency .
Sitolo, who contested in three of the country’s past elections but failed to win in all of them, triumphed this time around in almost 10 out of 13 polling stations that were set up for the Nsanje- Lalanje seat.
He hopes to repay the trust voters have placed in him by fighting local issues in Parliament and working within communities.
“I would like to thank the people of Nsanje Lalanje for giving me the opportunity to serve them,” said Sitolo when Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) officially declared him winner of the by-election.
Sitolo was declared winner of Nsanje Lalanje constituency after he polled 8, 775 votes followed by Gladys Ganda of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) who secured 5, 453. Winnie Wakudyanaye who contested as an independent candidate got 204 votes.
“I’m very pleased and I’d like to thank the people of Nsanje Lalanje for putting their trust in me .It’s quite humbling to receive anyone’s vote,” Sitolo told Nyasa Times.
“ I will work as hard as I can to fulfil my responsibilities to each and every person in the constituency,” he said.
Sitolo said he had an “enjoyable campaign!” which was marshalled by MCP’s new recruit, businessperson and former Cabinet minister Mohammed Sidik Mia
MCP’s imminent victory in Nsanje Lalanje is widely attributed to efforts of Mia, who is regarded as an influential figure in the Shire Valley districts of Chikwawa and Nsanje. This is the first time since the 1999 General Elections that MCP has won a a seat in the Southern Region.
The Nsanje-Lalanje Constituency seat became vacant after the death of Sam Ganda in May this year (2017).
His wife Gladys Ganda chose to contest to succeed her husband but lost to Sitolo.
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some political reasoning oozing out of Chakwera here. I begin to think that he saw afar the need to rope in a political heavy weight like Mia if MCP had to win the hearts of the masses in lower shire. i guess the seat would have been eloped to DPP had Chakwera laid trust in campaigning for sitolo for the sake of the elections. Yes, there seems to be a tactical maneuver and sense of providence in the MCP leader. Time to see better of the general elections ahead ditto.
Actually ku Lower Shire kunalibe Chogodola kungoti a DPP amafuna Sidik Mia kuti asagulitse Ng’ombe kuopa apanga ndalama and campaign for MCP. imagine kungotha ma by-election same evening kulengeza kuti chigodola chatha!!!!
Malawi to be a better place with MCP? Kikikikikiki poor Malawians, kuiwala msanga.
if it is forgetting, what about kupondedwa chimanga? sitinayiwaletu hence our action. we still remember the atrocities this foolish DPP has brought us.
Where is MBC here. I regret that MBC a broad cast that was developed by Kamuzu could not inform Malawians about by-elections. This is what is making Malawians to be furious with dpp and these guys are just useless and deserve to pack and go.
Congratulations MCP for the victory. This was a good fight and according to a political football commentary by D7 “Namatcheni Chitimbe DPP mwaigaga, mwaimeta opanda madzi, mwaidulira kwakuthwa, mwaifwafwantha, munayipital kwakuya komwe ana sangapite, mwaimvetsa chimbenene” monitored on Whats App “TIMVENI RADIO”. But my advice to you is that this is just the beginning of the real battle with DPP. Forget about the by-elections and focus on strengthen the party in other districts in southern, eastern and northen regions where you are weak and DPP is strong. Allow opposing views and constructive criticism from members within rank and file of MCP politburo and the media. Do not be complacent with the by-elections victory because the real battle is ahead of you in 2019. Don’t relax, this is the time to reach out to your enemies within the party and reconcile with them and together move forward. Get views/advice from a cross section of people, NGO, Civil Society groups, clergy, local leaders, veteran politicians, other opposition political leaders and NOT FORGETTING THE YOUTH. It’s not about MCP going into government in 2019, it should be a national agenda embracing everyone even DPP members, they are also Malawians. Think about plight of landless people of Thyolo and Mulanje, those in remote areas in Makanjira, Ngapani, Charo, Chitimaba, Usisya, Luarwe, Nthalire, Chididi, killings of people with Albinism, frequent blackouts, water shortages in Blantyre and Lilongwe, bad roads, poor education and health standards. There are many challenges to think about and come up with possible solutions. This is not time for champagne but reflect more of what you should to uplift lives of Malawians. Learn from Kagame and Magufuli how the are managing their economy. Honorable Chakwera be careful and do not allow people to bring division in the party. You are assembling a good team, combination of seasoned politicians and upcoming ones, the likes of Nick Yiannikis, Mia, Juliana Lunguzi, Richard Msowoya, Thyolera, Akeni Menyani, Chiphiko, Else Mkaka, Gwengwe, Msungama, Sitolo etc embrace all of them even those outside parliament and shadow ministers. You can get advice from the likes of Honorable Louis Chimango. You can also play your cards well by roping in Lucias Banda
Mau koma awa. We need MalawI to be a better place to stay. The real warm heart of africa
They tried to castigate mia but they failed. Watch out for this man, he is a super bomb