PP to decide on alliance with DPP, ‘rebel’ MPs:  ‘Grassroots reject to work with Mutharika’s rotten party’

The former governing People’s Party (PP) will hold a national executive (NEC) meeting in Lilongwe on Monday to state its position on working relationship with the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the spokesman of the party has said.

PP spokesman Noah Chimpeni said the party has solicited views of its supporters nationwide on the working relationship with DPP since President Peter Mutharika met some 16 PP legislators at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe.

The meeting split in the party with some legislators claiming they had formed an alliance with DPP.

However, Chimpeni and PP secretary general Ibrahim Matola reject the claims.

“There is no alliance between PP and DPP. We  the MPs were called to State House because Kondwani Nankhumwa, leader of government in Parliament, told us the President wanted an alliance with us. There were 16 of us,” he said

When they reached the presidential palace, Nankhumwa reportedly introduced them to Mutharika who expressed desire to be in a political alliance with PP because they share the same history as PP came out of DPP – born of one mother—United Democratic Front (UDF)

Chimpeni said they advised the President it would be better if DPP called PP president Joyce Banda to finalise the deal.

“I also suggested we consult our members first, but PP members rejected the alliance with DPP,” he said

Matola said  the owners of the party are the grassroot supporters who have rebuffed the alliance.

The PP secretary general said Mutharika’s governing party  is “already rotten”.

He stressed that DPP is “already finished” and that  there is no way “we are going to handle their mess.”

However, the report will be presented to NEC for a decision.

The party’s politiburo will also decided on the fate of its MPs who voted against the party stand  in the Electoral Reforms (Amendment) Bills which could have solidified their democracy.

There was public expectation that opposition political parties would gang up to support Electoral Reforms Bills, but PP lawmakers surprised many when some of them either voted ‘no’ or abstained from the proposed laws, including one requiring the President to be elected by over half of the votes cast.

Some PP lawmakers who are seeking favours from DPP connived with the governmentto frustrate the reforms.

PP chief whip Ralph Jooma resigned immediately after the “rebels vote”, citing personal reasons.

Chancellor College political analyst Ernest Thindwa reckons DPP is being strategic in readiness of next year’s elections.

“They do not want to have the Southern Region vote split and that is why they roped in UDF. I would like to speculate here that UDF is unlikely to field a candidate in 2019 because DPP would not want the Southern Region vote split. They would really like to have both UDF and PP to rally behind them,” Thindwa reasons.

Thindwa said the longer Joyce Banda stays outside the country, the more PP “crawls to its death-bed.”

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