The opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has announced that only party leader and former State president Peter Mutharika has collected nomination forms for the position of party president.
The announcement was made at a press briefing held at the party’s headquarters in Naperi, Blantyre.
Officials present included Leader of the Opposition in Parliament George Chaponda, spokesperson Shadric Namalomba, legislator Thoko Tembo and Jones Milanzi.
Chaponda, who also chairs the convention organising committee, said that this means the party has endorsed Mutharika, who will run unopposed at the convention, scheduled to take place at Comesa Hall in Blantyre from August 17 to 18.
It will attract 2,600 delegates.
“His Excellency Professor Authur Peter Mutharika has been endorsed by the party as our candidate by several members considering his ability to deliver Malawians from the current challenges. We believe that his leadership and vision are crucial to our party’s success and the country’s progress.
“Professor Mutharika is a man that led this country when donor support was suspended due to Cashgate—the massive plunder of public resources at Capital Hill in Lilongwe—between 2012 and 2013.
“He managed without donor support to reduce the inflation [rate] to a single digit, import cover was more than six months, Malawi had no shortages of forex and fuel during his tenure,” Chaponda said.
Chaponda also disclosed that DPP has invited opposition parties and members of the diplomatic corps to observe the process and independent bodies such as the Malawi Electoral Commission have been engaged to ensure transparency and accountability in the lead-up to the election of leaders.
In Chichewa, Namalomba said they expect all Malawians to focus on Comesa Hall in Blantyre during the convention.
“DPP is the only national party in this country, unlike other parties which are more of a club from one tribe, one church and one region.
“It is the party’s affirmative action to ensure that senior positions in the National Governing Council are evenly distributed across the four administrative regions [north, south, centre and east],” Namalomba said.
He reiterated that the campaign period began on July 30, 2024 and will end on August 15, 2024 at exactly 18:00 hours.
“Aspiring candidates must adhere to the conditions and requirements outlined in their nomination application forms.
“They should conduct themselves with the utmost integrity, focus on issue-based campaigns and avoid personal attacks,” he said.
In previous interviews, following reports that Mutharika was among party leaders likely to go unchallenged at their party’s elective conventions, political and good governance analysts said this was not unexpected.
Chimwemwe Tsitsi noted that it was uncommon for incumbent leaders to face competition.
“As long as the incumbent has another term remaining and has expressed interest in the position, it is very unlikely that they will face a challenge. For the DPP, it appears people are not comfortable with the idea of having a new leader,” he said.
Another analyst, George Chaima, echoed Tsitsi’s views.
“Mutharika is seen as the president who has been holding the party together. It also seems that he did not want anyone to challenge him,” Chaima said.
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