Atupele to pay nomination fees for UDF candidates: K45 million
United Democratic Front (UDF) Parliamentary and Local Government Election candidates have all the reasons to smile as their presidential candidate for the May 20 elections, Atupele Muluzi, has announced he will pay nomination fees for all of them.
The UDF leader made the announcement Wednesday when he presented certificates to the candidates from the central region at a function held at Capital City Motel in Lilongwe.
“I want to assure you that I will do anything possible to support you and that we should win this election,” said 35-year-old Muluzi, the youngest of all the aspiring presidential candidates.

The candidates were all praises for the UDF leader saying by paying for their nomination fees Muluzi has demonstrated that he was serious about winning the forthcoming elections.
“We are inspired, our president is very serious and we didn’t know that we would be assisted on the nomination fees because the amount is not small money,” said one candidate, Leonard Chimbanga, who will represent the party in Dedza East Constituency.
As if that was not enough, jam-packed room ruptured into songs, chants and ululation when the UDF president also announced the party would give each candidate what he called “starter pack” in terms of party material and undisclosed cash for the campaign.
The climax of the ceremony came when the UDF torchbearer presented a certificate to his running mate Dr. Godfrey Chapola, who is also one of the parliamentary candidates.
Muluzi’s running mate himself was also all smiles as he shook hands with his boss.
During the function, another notable name that also got his certificate was the party’s Secretary General, Kandi Padambo, who is also aspiring candidate for Ntcheu Central constituency.
The UDF party is fielding parliamentary candidates in all the 193 constituencies and councilors in all the wards across the country.
The youthful UDF leader is scheduled to present his nomination paper to the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) Wednesday morning in Blantyre at the COMESA Hall.
The former ruling party, which ruled Malawi between 1994 and 2004 under its founding leader, Bakili Muluzi, (Atupele’s father) will mainly have stiff competition from three other major parties which including the ruling People’s Party (PP) of Joyce Banda and two former governing parties- Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) led by Prof Arthur Peter Mutharika and Malawi Congress Party (MCP) of Dr Lazarous Chakwera.
