Presidential running mates debate to take place ahead of Malawi May polls

March 1, 2019 Osman Faiti -Nyasa Times 52 Comments

By public demand the presidential running mates debate will take place starting  from next week ahead of the May 21 watershed elections, the organiser Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS) has announced.

The debates will start on March 7 at Bingu International Conference Cente in Lilongwe from 6.30pm and will be live on Zodiak TV.

The panellists  will be runningmates from ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)  Everton Chimulirenji, Malawi Congress Party (MCP) Sidik Mia, People’s Party (PP) Dr Jerry Jana,  United Democratic Front (UDF)  Frank Tumpale Mwenifumbo and UTP Party Dr Micheal Usi.

The second debate will take place on March 14 at Comesa Hall in Blantyre from 6:30pm.

Mwenifumbo, who is Atupele Muluzi’s running mate,  said he was ready to face off with all the running mates.

The running mates debate comes at a time when Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA) Malawi Chapter will, from March 29 2019 to 5 April 2019, convene presidential debates to give citizens an opportunity to examine candidates eyeing the top office.

MISA Malawi chairperson Teresa Ndanga told journalists in the capital, Lilongwe, that the debates are a platform for the candidates to outline their developmental agendas if they are to be elected into office.

“We believe that the debates will promote and [push the] focus [of] the election [towards] issues rather than personalities…” Ndanga stated.

The debates are therefore expected to provide Malawians with an opportunity to scrutinise the candidates and elect those that have the skills and competence to lead the country.

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52 replies on “Presidential running mates debate to take place ahead of Malawi May polls”

  1. Anyone of the lot who will articulate issues that the common person understands and appreciates will win votes for his party. I know Usi will entertain, Mwenifumbo will confuse, Jerry will talk about what he’s done for himself and not the country, Chimulirenji will spend the allocated time praising APM. The person to watch and listen to is Mia. He’s got what it takes.

  2. Malawi is the poorest country on earth because of mental slavery. Acting like subjects of the queen of England and living her values have led to Malawians not being patriotic or start looking for solutions from within. Chinese don’t care about your English, some speak Portuguese and no English, some speak Kiswahili and no English. Some speak Arabic and no English, some speak Zulu and no English but they don’t look down on themselves. Elitists in Malawi will screw you ndithu.

    Mind you one of the greatest leaders ever in Africa Thomas Sankara used to speak French

    1. When a Chinese speaks no English that does not mean he didn’t go to school. Chinese are educated in Chinese. French are educated in French, Arabs in Arabic and do on. In Malawi we are educated in English. If you can’t speak English and yet your education is in English then that determines whether you are backward or otherwise. So your comparison above, Ms Tidzamka is irrelevant.

  3. Wa JCE kukhala Deputy Minister of defence, Minister of civic education and culture! Ma Dr mkumakhala ma clerk. This is so because ma degree amasiku ano bolani kukhala ndi ndalama! JCE yakale is more powerful than ma degree operekedwa masiku anowa!. Wins amva pain cause he is going all the way to rule the country!

  4. For me, being eloquent in English or not, is not an issue but being able to articulate how issues being asked at the debate will be handled to solve a myriad of problems Malawians are facing, be it in English or whatever language one prefers. Having said that, I see communication challenges with this Chimulirenji guy. Not only in English but in his vernacular language as well. Let us brest for njuchi zokoma za June.

  5. I can see the DPP running mate being assigned to foreign duties by apulofesa during the debate period so that dziko lisamve the broken English.

  7. Having good eloquence does not mean they can lead people. JC man can help well than wa degree be careful that’s why we are missing the track with professor.

    Secondly some people there ndi ma yes bwana they cant help us they are stupid, driver ndi president.

    Malawi ikufunica munthu wa kulikonse kaya mtonga mtumbuka mchewa msena mngulu kaya wa JC koma who can bring our glory back

  8. Debate or no debate…the CHAKWERA Hi5 AGENDA IS THE WAY TO GO….

    BOTH CHILIMA and MUNTHARIKA HAVE MISERABLY FAILED US

  9. Its a game of inteligence, wisdom, exposure and experience. He who have all will carry the day.

  10. ANAY WAY…from 1994 to date we have tried everything… The so called educated people have miserably failed us…..The professors ( Like Muntharika) , the Dr ( Like Chilima ) …have miserably failed us…Dr Bakili Muluzi was even worse than the above two..

    Educated people have miserably failed us and they don’t even matter in our society….. WE NO LONGER NEED CLASSROOM KNOWLEDGE TO BULD A BETTER MALAWI..

    TO MOVE MALAWI FORWRD WE JUST NEED A PATRIOT WITH CLEAR VISION..

  11. Palibe chikaiko… pano member ili mkati kuphunzira zantchito…….osaphweketsa…..olo akhoza kuzachedwa for chizungu debate ndi kubwera chichewa time. Pamenepo bwanji

  15. Malawians are still sleeping. Speaking good English does not mean you are a performer. Do you listen to the deliberations at the United Nation. No all speak in English and that does not mean they are not performers. English is not our mother language but a second language if not third. Have you ever sat down and ask yourself, why Malawians has to takeEnglish test before going to uK, yet people in Zimbabwe, Tanzania, South Africa, Botswana they don’t. Sometimes it is better to do simple research to know where you stand. For example, if you check top 50 or 100 top universities in Africa Malawi is not there. I have seen people who has never entered in class speaking English, it is the grace. So stop thinking you’re better, yet you can’t even hold a long conversation always pardon me,. We are not going to vote for good English speakers, but people of substance who will be able to deliver, who likes taking challenges . We will vote for a party that will change lives of people in the rural areas who do not speak English, but looking for someone who is able to deliver development or a party that is serious not jokers who have not contested for a local position in their yard but want to running the country.

    1. @ favour

      It’s not about english it’s about level of education and comprehension of issues.

    2. Favour of Yahweh. When English is your medium of instruction and you can’t speak it then it means you are not suitably educated. Those who speak Portuguese at United Nations gave Portuguese as their language of instruction. Please don’t ecpose your ignorance in public like this.

    3. The question you should be asking is why are Malawians asked to write IELTS or TOFEL before going to UK. and have you asked yourself why MEC those who want to contest as MPs should be proficient in English?

  19. Apapa ndiye kufuna kumuyalutsa munthu. Even Mai a Ras Chikomeni ndi ophunzira kuposa awa a njuchi za mu June zozuna

    1. We may not have to worry too much about Dzonzi Chimulirenji. Very soon he will be speaking fluent English. And he will have “Dr” affixed to his name. Do you remember how HE Bakili Muluzi used to massacre the he Queen’s language in 1994 soon after becoming head of state? It was worse than Dzonzi. Thanks to in-house tutorship, HE’s English improved. Later he was honoured with a PhD. Today nobody can remember those times when we all used to laugh out lungs out when HE spoke. Somebody will become Dzonzi’s personal tutor soon.

    2. JC or PhD doesn’t matter in this case. What matters most is what the person has to offer if ushered into the office. For myopic thinker will be busy analysing English grammar instead of the issues. Am sorry thus typical of Malawians they think by speaking English well then you are capable of doing things.

  27. Among these runningmates the one who is to run the show is Jerry Jana. No one among them will match him. Wait to hear JC holders Mia and Timulirenji.

  28. Nde certificate in business administration yokha basi munthu akayankha nayo chani……………………!

    Apapa nde mukuchita target munthu wina wake!! Inu mukudziwa kale kuti nzanu amayankha mafunso onse amene wapatsidwa irrespective of what they are looking for using two sentences: [1] I sincerely thank the president for nominating me as his running mate; [2] I will serve him, respect him deligently. Ngakhale wina afunse kuti, akulu dzina lanu ndinu ndani, mayankho ake amapeleka omweomweoooooooooooooooo!! Nde muzikati debate, abale sichichipongweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee chimenechiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

  31. Koma Mwati a Chimulilenji sakasekesako anthu kumeneku? Paja queens language yimavutilapo, ndakayika ngati akapezeko.

    2. Since the debate is for the benefit of majority of Malawians and is part of the campaign, it should not be restricted to english language so there should not be any problem with those who cannot express themselves well in the queens language

  33. Tiyeni tikalakhule mother tongue ngati amalawi chondee kukakhale Chitumbuka chinsena chilomwe Chingoni chichewa pangóno

  34. Presidential debates in our Malawian context are just a waste of time. As we are all aware, people vote on tribal and regional grounds, which means nobody can change his/her mind because of presidential debates. Secondly, the so-called debates are organized like open interviews; there is no real debate.

  35. There is one in the centre and one in the south and why not one in the north. If anything why not only have one in Lilongwe. The fact that you want two, you can as well have three.

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