Chakwera calls for law that regulates Presidential Transition: US’s lesson for Malawi

Leader of opposition and Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president Lazarous Chakwera is calling for an enactment of the law that prescribes modalities for the peaceful transition of power between outgoing and incoming administrations.

Chakwera: Presidential transition law needed in Malawi

Chakwera said the transition of power in the United States between President Barrack Obama to the new leader Donald Trump should be lesson for Malawi to start a transition programme through to the orderly inauguration of the new president.

Normally in Malawi the inauguration of the President is rushed through.

“We should pass the legislation that regulates a transition of power and inauguration of the president after elections,” Chakwera said on Monday on Daybreak Malawi program aired by Capital Radio.

He said the law should prescribe modalities for the peaceful transition of power between outgoing and incoming administrations, saying there shouldn’t be disorderly take over.

Government spokesman and Minister of Information, Nicholous Dausi said indeed Malawi has to learn from advanced democracies such as the process of transferring power.

“Our democracy is still in infancy stage we have a lot to learn,” said Dausi on Daybreak Malawi.

He said US showed the way things should be after an election.

“All former presidents were together; I think that’s how it should be. I think as a country, we can learn. First of all is to accept results [of the elections] and then move on and develop together,” said Dausi.

Nonetheless, Chakwera is demanding “a transparent way of managing elections.”

MCP is also advocating for Malawi to adopt a 50-plus-one system of electing a President from a first-past-the-post.

Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Jane Ansah who is a judge of the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal, said proposed electoral reforms currently being scrutinised by a Special Law Commission would address some of the challenges of the previous elections, and most recently the May 20 2014 Tripartite Elections which was marred by anomalies at voter registration and verification stages as well as at some polling stations when it came to tallying cast votes.

Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :

Sharing is caring!

Follow us in Twitter
15 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
tangopenya
tangopenya
7 years ago

mukukometa lero mukufuna achakwera akhale pres . adikile 2019 muzawasankha amene mukuwafunawo aliyese azasankha chimene afuna osakhala kunyozana mitundu zithandiza chiani zingogawanisa wanthu .tikhala chocho mpaka kale kale.

Nelson Mwakasungula
Nelson Mwakasungula
7 years ago

Did he attend the inauguration ceremony of the current president in 2014?

Rift Valley
Rift Valley
7 years ago

Koma kwathu kuno timanyanya. Kuopa chiyani?

Yahya Jammeh
7 years ago

I don’t agree with Chakwer’s suggestion. It does not mean that everthing that Americans are doing is right. In Britain, after the elections the party that has the majority MPs forms a government immediately and they don’t wait for transition as the Americans do, but we have never heard of any complaint from the British people about their system. The moment you adopt the American style there will be a lot of looting of government coffers by the outgoing administration. We should maintain what we are doing now, but only ensure bolts are tight enough at the Central Bank. The… Read more »

mike Jones
mike Jones
7 years ago

Great idea.I have been thinking about this for A LONG TIME.IN MALAWI MA PRESIDENT AMASINTHANA NGATI AKUCHOKERA MU NYUMBA YA HULE.

JCInLA
JCInLA
7 years ago

Its more than sad to say that the only thing the Rev. Chakwera can comment on about the American election is the “transitional…sh#t” when he, with his position, could have used this opportunity to encourage the nation to work together and to make sure No One is above the law.
He seems to be dreaming of the day he will be “elected……” oh my f#$k!
What are we electing to the higher leadership and the government for?

Very sad, even the opposition is very useless. Please god, allah, jah, moon, sun, water…. bless and help our lovely country.

Omex70
Omex70
7 years ago

Chakwera is saying the truth and those who are opposing his observations and suggestions are doing that simply because they are looking atthe said lesson from their perspective. How I wish we had more people who can be objective in their line of thought.

nolo nolo
nolo nolo
7 years ago

a Joseph Banda ndi inu a Psyata paliso chomwe chalakwika pa zomwe walankhula Chakwera? mmmmmm pamtumbo panu mudzidana ndi zabwino zomwe?

Chaponda
Chaponda
7 years ago

Gambia is better than us on elections and days of inaugrations

Mweene
Mweene
7 years ago

Why is it that most of oChakwera’s political proposals are simply moronic? Copy and paste not only the American system; but even their procedures, for example the ones that deal with transitions? What about the so-called 50+1 theme? Then the push for it should be abandoned because the US does NOT follow it? (NB Trump, oChakwera’s man, won with fewer votes than his opponent! And APM won more votes than anybody, hands down.) What does the MCP boss say to that? We do NOT need 50+1 in this country, because it will NOT solve any of the problems critics of… Read more »

Read previous post:
Malawi Police says Vagabond law requires modification

The Malawi Police has hinted the need to modify the Rogue and Vagabond law that was recently declared unconstitutional by...

Close