Chaos of MCP’s Mzimba Central Primaries: Silence from SG and Director of Elections Fuels Democratic Crisis
In the wake of a disputed primary election in Mzimba Central, the silence of Malawi Congress Party (MCP) Secretary General Richard Chimwendo Banda and Director of Elections Elias Chakwera is sounding louder than any official statement. As party members and the public demand answers, neither has stepped forward to explain the chaotic and questionably conducted poll that has left the party fractured and confused.
The primaries, which reportedly saw presidential advisor Adamson Kuseri Mkandawire emerge with 262 votes over Minister of Trade and Industry Vitumbiko Mumba’s five, are now the subject of intense scrutiny. Ballot papers went missing. Result sheets were never presented. And in an unprecedented move, voting was reduced to lining up behind candidates—allegedly with the blessing of party leadership.
MCP official Maxwell Thyolera, who oversaw the process, claimed the shift was a response to “thugs” intercepting the election materials in transit. But local party officials like Euthini Ward councillor Paul Chondo have rubbished this explanation.
“What kind of democratic process replaces secret ballots with public queues? And who gave the order?” Chondo asked, pointing to the absence of oversight, transparency, and key delegates at the makeshift venue.
The controversy has placed MCP’s top leadership in the spotlight. Yet Chimwendo Banda and Chakwera have chosen to remain mum—offering neither a statement nor a plan for investigating the disputed outcome.
Experts say this silence may prove politically costly.
“This isn’t just an internal dispute—it’s a crisis of democratic credibility,” warned Dr. Gift Sambo, an expert in electoral politics. “If left unaddressed, the party risks alienating its base and losing ground in 2025.”
Governance commentator George Chaima echoed these concerns, urging the MCP to return decision-making power to its members: “The longer they stay quiet, the more it looks like the leadership is complicit.”
As the party struggles to contain the fallout, Mzimba Central may become a litmus test for how seriously the MCP takes internal democracy—and whether it is ready to be held accountable by its own supporters.
