Malawi party ownership syndrome causing upheavals, says analyst
A renowned political scientist has attributed the recent problems rocking the country’s major parties to a syndrome which places ownership of political parties to individuals.
Chancellor College political scientist Mustafa Hussein said most parties are bankrolled by individuals who take the political parties as individual estates and makes unilateral decisions.
“In addition, there is too much party intolerance and infighting because it is a hangover from the one party rule where leaders do not give room to dissenting views, although we are in multiparty democracy, they have not shed off this,” he said.
The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), main opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and Peoples Party are rocked in problems.
The DPP has constructively expelled its Mulanje South MP Bon Kalindo after he staged a nude protest against killings of persons with albinism. The party says he did not seek clearance from the party before the protest.
In MCP, senior party officials Jessie Kabwila and Felix Jumbe were nearly chased away at a rally in Salima addressed by party president Lazarus Chakwera and Peoples Party has formally expelled its Zomba Ntonya MP Patrick Makina accusing him of political double standards.
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Indeed, it is sad that people who know better and preach the principles of democracy are intolerant of opposing views .
There is an apparent absence of internal democracy within political parties.
The question, though is: have the party constitutions not put in place structures for resolutions of policy conflicts?(voting procedures, for example?)
In general, it is such prevalent intolerance that renders national politics immature and repellent to many people of goodwill who would wish to serve the country through politics.
It is only MCP that has changed leadership for almost four times. Kamuzu to Gwanda followed by Tembo then Chakwera. No one owns it in his or her pocket. Ask me of UDF, DPP and AFORD.