UTM shifts convention date: November 9 indaba postponed
United Transformation Movement (UTM) that is promoting Vice-President Saulos Chilima’s presidential ticket in the May 21 2019 Tripartite Electionshas cancelled its first ever national elective conference which was scheduled to take place from November 9 2018.
UTM spokeman Dr. Joseph Chidanti Malunga confirmed the development in a telephone interview on Monday.
“It is true that we have postponed our party convention which was supposed to take place on 9th November 2018,” Chidanti Malunga told Nyasa Times.
He further revealed that the party through a special independent committee will announce the new date and venue for the constitution.
“We need to adhere to our constitution that requures us to give a notice of 21 days before the actual date of the convention. As you can recall very well, we did announce that we will hold our convention on 9th November but we did not announce the venue and positions to be contested for,” said Chidanti Malunga.
“Therefore, even if we can announce the venue and positions today, I don’t think it can work out” he added.
He then assured the general public and all our UTM supporters that the special independent committee instituted will announce the date and venue for the convention soon.
The movement has also announced that primary elections will be held across rge country inmediately after the convention.
UTM was launched by Chilima in July this year after he dumped the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Chilima fell out of favour with President Peter Mutharika—who picked him from the private sector where he worked as Airtel Malawi managing director to be his running mate in 2014—in June this year when he quit the governing party.
He told British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) programme Hard Talk a fortnight ago that all positions in UTM, including the interim one he holds, would be up for contest.
Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :
Dr Malunga auzeni anthu chilungamo, I am quite sure the convention has been cancelled because the party’s registration court judgement is not yet out. Remember its illegal for unregistered parties to conduct meetings and conventions are part of them. Haven’t you noticed their president has stopped conducting rallies? He knows what he is doing. But I am happy because I can once again enjoy live football commentaries on Zodiak and Times. Koma a DPP, MCP & UDF kwangoti zii no rallies are you waiting for Chilima to resume his his rallies to kick you into action too? At least amai… Read more »
imeneyo ndi utm mukuika mapazi koma ziteka basi, ngakale mukuwachedwesa things will unlock at the end of the day
enanu ndima cadet mulibe nfundo the vice president and utm alindi ndalama zokwanira kuyendesela chipani, komaso kuwakaniza a utm osapanga register ndinjira imozi DPP akufuna kupomboneza MEC
The movement is now broke. The Idiot went abroad hoping to raise funds but he came back empty handed only only got embarrassed on HardTalk. He has made another trip to try and source money from the Igwe’s in Nigeria but am sure he wil also comeback empty handed. B4 his trip to the Igwe he tried to impress them by putting on Igwe attire at a wedding in Lilongwe hahaha wauoponda ubwerakonso manjamanja kumeneko. Wachoka utaba kit ya MEC galu iwe
Chiyambi chogwa nayotu ichi.
It is a wisest move as we wait for the parliament to finish.
Not a good start UTM. If you’re postponing key convention to unknown date what if you’re in govt when its critical to deliver on your (developmental) projects. You can’t afford a situation where you lay foundations and keep postponing launches. Your credibility is on the line and your behaviour now is telling. The fact that UTM isn”t registered as a political party is a huge oversight but you should have still made a smart plan to go ahead with the convention (in some way) and then just ratify the meeting and its minutes as and when the party gets registered.… Read more »
They don’t have money for the convention. They are waiting for Dangoti to give them a loan. Ku UK ndikuja they came back empty handed. Zokuba sizichedwa kutha.
This is kind of wet blanket to UTM supporters because they have been waiting for that day to come,so that people could exercise their freedom of assembly and to express their interests of knowing the matters tha are rocking the party not to get register. Top leaders and all organisers should not take this for granted just postponing the important convention like the one to come. Since we are for a change and we want a better malawi , we shall wait till that day comes to hear your plans how you are going to bail out malawi from horns… Read more »
It’s being run based on emotionals