Chakwera says no dialogue with DPP: ‘MCP cannot negotiate with thieves’

Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president Lazarus Chakwera has turned down calls to dialogue with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)  amist political tension and apparent lawlessness over the disputed May 21 presidential vote, saying there has been no official communication from the DPP.

Speaking during a press conference in Lilongwe on Monday, Chakwera added that he has only heard about the call to dialogue to resolve the post-election political tension from the media.

The anger is also boiling hot  with a series of demonstrations organised to demand the resignation of  Malawi Electoral Commssion (MEC) chairperson  Jane Ansah , a judge of the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal, for flunking the management of the May 21 elections. There is deathly silence from her.

During the news conference, MCP secretary general Eisenhower Mkaka put up an analogy about how to deal with a thief in your compound.

MCP believes presidential votes were stolen and that DPP was the beneficiary of this theft with MEC as the accomplice.

“We cannot negotiate with a thief? When you find a thief in your goat kraal stealing do you negotiate with him? Surely you don’t,” said Mkaka.

MCP contends that the so-called olive branch the DPP  claim to have extended to the opposition leaders is in bad faith .

MCP president Chakwera has launched a blistering attack on the ruling party for stalking the already fragile political situation with petrol bombings to trigger the state of emergency.

Chakwera said Malawians are sick and tired of what he called thieving DPP government which he said has robbed them of their birthright and has lost what he said all legitimacy to govern

MCP and UTM Party led by former vice-president Saulos Chilima have taken the matter about the ‘stolen’ elections to court.

A panel of five High Court judges sitting as a constitutional court is set to start hearing the substantive case on July 29.