UTM energised with public-opinion survey: Dausi says ‘political tantrums of the time no longer important’
Newly-formed UTM party led by Vice President Saulos Chilima has said it values the public-opinion survey research conducted by Malawi’s Institute of Public Opinion Research (Ipor) which shows the party is third in voting intentions after the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and main opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP).
UTM spokesman Joseph Chidanti Malunga said the Ipor survey has helped illustrate the undeniable that Chilima’s led party is “rapidly gaining in popularity” across all of Malawi while others are losing ground.
Malunga described the 16 percent of respondents who would vote for UTM as a huge boost.
“If the survey was done today, we would do better than third place. Even then, 16 percent is a huge boost considering that the survey was done less than two months after the launch,” said Malunga.
Malunga pointed out that the survey shows DPP is down from 36 percent in 2013 to 27 percent while MCP is down from 31 percent then to 27 this year.
He said Chilima wants to lead a UTM government that will “transform this country and give real hope to everybody”.
But MCP has described the findings on UTM being a contender for 2019 elections as just euphoria and excitement that comes with a new thing.
MCP spokesman Maurice Munthali said the UTM euphoria is “dying down.”
He said next year’s elections is a chance for Malawians to change the direction of the country and that MCP is the trustworthy party as surveyed by Ipor.
DPP spokesman Nicholous Dausi applauded the findings which it indicated the party holds a “narrow lead” to win.
Dausi said DPP did not see UTM as a threat.
He said the UTM gained 16 percent at the time it was formed but “the political tantrums of the time are no longer important.”
Dausi said if Ipor conducted the survey today, “things would be different.”
The survey indicates that if elections were to be held today, United Democratic Front (UDF) would get 6 percent of the vote while PP would get 5 percent.
Governance expert and commentator Makhumbo Munthali told Nyasa Times that the pollsters are credible and it reflects on true assessments.
The survey, dated October 2018 was conducted between August and September this year to assess the political environment in Malawi ahead of the May 21 2019 Tripartite Elections and give an understanding of the political and economic environment of the country.
Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD) supported the survey carried by University of Malawi professors Blessings Chinsinga, Boniface Dulani, Joseph Chunga and Mwayi Masumbu.
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What about if Chilima stoles the election
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Anybody who doesn’t believe UTM euphoria is dying slowly is in self denial. Chilima had lots of good will when he started in July but a number of issues have turned people off. Firstly Chilima should have resigned as VEEPEE and many people would have been sympathetic with him. But now the reality that he is getting a free salary has started to sink in many people. Do your survey and you will be surprised how angry people are. Secondly despite many governing mistakes, people still like APM and they will never like the idea of jailing him if he… Read more »
People must be very careful when analyzing UTM. Ignore it at your own peril. It is a force to reckon with. Political climate has changed because of the coming of UTM. Political leaders now can articulate issues clearer than it was in the past when they were just de-campaigning each other without facts. For your own information, UTM will have many MPs in Parliament come May 2019
Sometimes i feel like the way the Reverend responds to issue is not godly at all.See how Chidanti responds and even how Dausi and then compare to a Reverend.
If someone says this is how they feel the results of the polls will be i would say ooh Ok thats there opinion.Maybe true,maybe somewhere true or maybe not true.But it remains there opinion.
Point of correction. UTM is losing popularity. You started well but you were overwhelmed and started giving unrealistic promises.
I agree totally with the report as well. The survey was done during the time UTM was not registered. It reads that ” If elections were held in August, 2018, then project/mirror 2019 May 21″ the results would show huge race between DPP and MCP. True, true and no doubt about it. Things have been changing fast on the political landscape. The report is no longer relevant in November to December. Come 2019 when campaign picks up, UTM shall have more than 53% lead. WHY? 1) UTM has better strategies than the rest of the parties. 2) UTM has embarked… Read more »
At the time of the survey, UTM popularity was at its highest. They were launching the movement from one city to another. Key question: is the excitement still there? Honest people in UTM know that winning elections next year is IMPOSSIBLE. Next question: what will become of Chilima and team after the loss? They will be OK if MCP wins but will be in big trouble and with great shame if DPP wins.
There is only one person in the world who understands the meaning of opinion polls: Hillary Clinton.
The aim of this survey was to set the media and political agenda. I don’t see the reason why this survey was conducted as soon as UTM was launched and you went to the villages to ask people about UTM. Why didn’t you wait to conduct your survey in between Feb -March 2019. The survey may give a true reflection of other parties i.e. DPP UDF MCP but not a true picture of MCP. There is a political agenda behind this survey.
Wait for Afrobarometer