Chilima, Chakwera gear up for judgement day: Malawi ‘grand coalition’ on the cards

UTM Party president Saulos Chilima and his Malawi Congress Party (MCP) Lazarus Chakwera are set to meet on Monday at the High Court in Lilongwe as pressure mounts from opposition party supporters who want o two parties to go into a political alliance if the Constitutional Court ruling  nullify last year’s presidential election in favour of a fresh election.

Chilima and Chakwera dragged  President Peter Mutharika and Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) to the Constitutional Court over massive irregularities which include rigging and vote manipulation in the presidential election.

The UTM and MCP presidential hipefuls, who both attended the hearing as first and second respondents, will be back in the court on Monday morning at 9am for the ruling.

However, as  the country nervously awaits judgment on Monday, several opposition party supporters have taken up in various social media platforms to call on the two parties leadership to go into a political alliance if they are to dislodge the DPP from power.

The supporters say the MCP alone could have an uphill task to wrestle power from the DPP whose system is now entrenched mostly in its power base, the south.

Chilima has already signalled that he is ready to enter into an alliance should the ruling of the Constitutional Court favour the petitioners so long as they have a common agenda.

“We are always ready to work with others as long as we can accommodate one another. It will also depend on our motivation for that alliance. So, yes, an alliance is possible,”the UTM Party leader, who is the country’s immediate former vice-president, said at a news conference last Thursday.

“At this moment I can’t say what role we will play, it is premature. We need to let some matters pass. But take note that UTM will be there whether there will be an alliance or not. The party has leaders,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chakwera has said he welcomes Chilima’s openness on the matter and that he was hopeful that “this will be done”.

Chakwera, in a telephone interview, said MCP and “other parties” have already proven that it is possible for all of us to come together to build our country.

He said: “As you know, uniting Malawians is a signature pillar of the Chakwera Hi-5 agenda. So, I applaud the UTM president’s call for Malawians to unite in accepting the court’s ruling peacefully, just as I myself took the initiative to do so a week ago. Similarly, I welcome his openness to forming alliances for the sake of bringing Malawians together after the ruling.”

Chakwera added that what is left now is for the words to be turned into action, “and I am hopeful that this will be done”.

Weighing in on the matter, political analyst Henry Chingaipe  said should the Constitutional Court rule in favour of the petitioners, an electoral alliance of the opposition parties is possible, saying unity of purpose among political elites at a certain level has some chance of creating real unity among supporters of the various parties.

In the May 21 highly disputed elections,  Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) declared Mutharika winner of the presidential race with 1 940 709 votes or 38.57 percent. He was trailed by Chakwera with 1 781 740 votes (35.41 percent) and Chilima with 1 018 369 votes or 20.24 percent.

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