PP gives UK wing voting rights at convention: Battle for posts intensify
The governing Peoples Party (PP) has given its United Kingdom (UK) wing voting rights at its national convention on Monday in Blantyre, Nyasa Times understands.
The PP UK wing chairperson Hannigton Gondwe confirmed Nyasa Times the delegates are already in the country for the convention.
“It is true we have been given voting rights for Monday convention,” said Gondwe.
The son to ex-cabinet minister Queen Gondwe who has also joined PP, said four members will attend the convention, they include Chipiliro Mpinganjira, Ngina Warren and Linda Khembo.
Old versus new members
The PP convention is one of its kind and has left the party hugely divided especially between founding members on one hand and new comers who are also tussling for senior positions.
However, analysts have warned that come Monday it will be a break or make for the party depending on which camp carries the day.
“The convention is recipe for disaster to PP because in an event that the new comers win positions then the founding gurus will be left with no choice but to jump the ship. That is dangerous as well because it means the president will be working with people she cannot trust, people who a short while ago called her all sorts of names,” observed Blessings Chinsinga, a University of Malawi lecturer.
“The problem with PP is that it has made its life difficult as there is no real reason of purpose of members joining the party apart from being a ruling party, it has no defined ideology that is the reason why there is total confusion. I really have a feeling that come Monday the destiny of the party will be known,” Chinsinga said..
No ill-feelings
But speaking to local private radio MIJ FM in Democracy Forum program, PP treasure general Brown Mpinganjira dispelled insinuation that the old guards are poised to walk away if they lose their seats.
He argued that the PP has millions of members that are not holding any position in the party yet they are equally supporting the president’s development agenda.
“Holding convention is part of democracy thus I don’t see any reason why somebody should feel disgruntled and quit the party because s/he has lost their position in the party? What I know is that PP has majority of members that are not holding any position comparing to those serving in the national executive,” explained Mpinganjira who is facing former DPP heavyweight Sidik Mia for the position of vice president alongside Zomba based Joseph Chikwemba.
In other hotly contested positions, new comers Uladi Mussa and Cassim Chilumpha have been squared against eloquent speaking Clement Stambuli as well as Chris Chaima Banda for the position of vice president responsible for political affairs.
Another new comer Ken Zikhale Ng’oma is poised to battle it out with Phillipo Ngopi and Kalanzi Mbewe for the position of campaign director while academician Henry Chibwana is fighting so hard to retain his position against director of legal affairs in the party Paul Maulidi.
Whatever the outcome, analysts predict, it remains to be seen how the party would pick itself up in an event that it comes out of the convention a severely cracked party.
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