PP gurus jostle for Vice President post : All set for convention
There is an underground battle of supremacy among the top Peoples Party (PP) gurus especially for the position of Vice President, just two weeks before the party’s first ever convention to be held on August 27, 2012 in Blantyre.
Both PP Secretary General Henry Chibwana and spokesperson Stephen Mwenye confirmed of the party’s August 27 convention.
Mwenye said the party want “to regularise all positions” and there will be an open contents at the convention.
“We want leaders to have the mandate of the people, so all positions in the National Executive Committee will be contested for,” he said.
The interim publicist said the party had been holding provincial elections ahead of the ‘indaba’ to be held in Blantyre.
Intra-party democracy
The most juicy position where some top gurus in the party are eyeing is that of the Vice Presidency where the party is expected to elect three Vice Presidents from each region.
This development has ignited the top officials in secret and underground campaigning.
PP Secretary General Chibwana said the idea of having three Vice Presidents, one from each region of South, Centre and North, is to ‘strengthen the party countrywide’.
Nyasa Times sources said the jostling of positions has taken centre stage especially in the Central Region where Home Affairs Minister Uladi Mussa, Energy Minister and Former State Vice President Cassim Chilumpha and two top PP officials, Clement Stambuli and George Zulu are eyeing the position of Vice President.
In the Southern Region, battle lines have been drawn between Transport Minister Sidik Mia and PP Treasurer General Brown James Mpinganjira.
Mia has been non-committal on running the post and Mpinganjira kept his cards close to the chest.
Mpinganjira said he will follow the wishes of the people whether to compete or not.
“Without God I am nothing. I will do what God wants me to do,” said Mpinganjira.
No challenger for Khumbo
But no one has gathered courage to challenge incumbent State Vice president Khumbo Kachali for the post, according to impeccable sources.
Chibwana confirmed of some campaigning in the party but denied it was ‘secret’.
“I am aware of the secret campaigning but it is natural in democracy for people to jostle for positions,” he said.
He said the party believes in democracy that is why it is going for the convention to allow party followers to elect leaders of their choice.
Mussa has confirmed that he will be vying for the Vice Presidency position.
PP became the de facto ruling party following the death of President Bingu wa Mutharika.
Mutharika’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) expelled then Vice-President Banda and Khumbo Kachali over succession wrangling which prompted her to found the PP.
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