Mutharika and DPP victory inevitable, Nankhumwa tells newspaper

The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)  Vice President for the South, Kondwani Nankhumwa has said  that victory for the party and re-election of President Peter Mutharika with his running mate Everton Chimulirenji  in the May 21 tripartite elections is inevitable because the people are their “biggest weapon”.

“Politics is a highly strategic game. We know that all political parties are coming up with various strategies to beat DPP in these elections.  As a party, we anticipated these strategies and placed them accordingly. DPP is a big party and we have a requisite strategy to neutralize whatever strategy our opponents are coming up with. The people are our biggest weapon,” Nankhumwa said this in an interview published by Weekend Nation of February 23 2019.

The interview is published on the paper’s  Guest Spot, Opinion & Analysis page.

Nankhumwa, who was widely perceived to become President Mutharika’s running mate ahead of the May 21 presidential polls, told the national weekly  that he did not agree with assertions that the choice of Chimulirenji as running mate at the expense of him and other senior party gurus had caused “any stir” within the DPP.

“What you must know is that there will never be a time in a democracy, more so in a big organization like the DPP, where all people will agree with a single decision at a particular time. To me any debate or public discourse over the choice of running-mate to President Mutharika is normal considering that we are a ruling party with a wide scope of reach. We were bound to be in the spotlight one way or another,” he is quoted as having explained.

Nankhumwa told the newspaper that following the decision by Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) to approve presidential nomination papers for the party’s candidate, it meant the party is “done with the preliminary stages; it means Professor Mutharika is set and ready to go; it means DPP’s plan to win another five year term is on course and that will certainly happen”.

He said DPP is “a very big organization with structures and people at grassroots in all the 54 constituencies” in the region where he is VP.

“The people have always been with us and have seen what we have done for them as a party and as government, and they also know what we are capable of doing. We will not go around promising the moon to people because ours is not a desperate campaign.

“We will activate our structures on the ground to remind the people that our vision is on course and that they should give us five more years to continue improving their livelihoods,” he is quoted as saying.

Asked to rate President Mutharika’s leadership, Nankhumwa, who also serves in Mutharika’s cabinet as Local Government and Rural Development minister, explained he could not describe of any other great leadership than that of President Mutharika.

“I consider myself privileged to have served under him in different capacities over the years and rise through the ranks to where I am today. He is the best leader and coach that you can think of, and I believe that is the reason why he is a decorated scholar and international luminary. The DPP is blessed to have APM as its leader,” he said.