President Lazarus Chakwera has dared former State president Peter Mutharika to come and compete against him in the September 16 2025 Presidential Election.
In a televised interview with Deutsche Welle (DW)’s Josephine Mahachi, Chakwera said he was not worried that the former leader had declared his intention to vie for the presidency again.
This will be the fourth time Chakwera, who is leader of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), will be facing the Democratic Progressive Party leader, Mutharika, in an election after facing off in 2014, 2019 and 2020.
“Let him come. Let him compete. We have competed before. I’m not worried at all.
“It [Malawi] is a democracy and it is about telling Malawians what they need to do. And they are the best judges.
“Every time, even when he has been leader of a political party—with his leaders, as leaders of opposition, in Parliament— every time there’s been a by-election and every time they have said Malawi Congress Party is nothing, we have won those elections,” Chakwera said.
Asked why Malawians should give him another term of office, Chakwera asked as to why Malawians should not.
“They have seen how the economy is now stabilising. We are not out of the woods yet. They have seen how the international community has affirmed the reforms that we are pursuing and [they are] coming back with their support.
“They have seen infrastructure development never seen on that scale across the country. They have seen how, despite the challenges, we have rehabilitated the irrigation schemes. We are talking about the megafarms and these have started.
“We are talking about the issues of making sure that agriculture is not just taken as subsistence farming but real business. And they have seen all these things going on,” Chakwera said.
He added that Malawians have seen the authorities going out of their way to make sure that there are funds for those who want to go into agriculture commercialisation, adding that Malawians would not want all this reversed.
But Mutharika’s spokesperson Shadric Namalomba said in 2014 and 2019, the DPP leader defeated Chakwera by a significant margin.
“However, in the recent [June 23] 2020 [court-ordered] election, Chakwera resorted to underhand tactics and deception to secure his victory. He betrayed the late Saulos Klaus Chilima, who had gained the support of one million voters.
“Our president, His Excellency Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika, boldly asserts that Chakwera is no match for him in a fair election packing his bags. It’s time for him to start
“Who would vote for a failed leader who shows favoritism towards his church and hometown? A leader who indulges in lavish luxuries while his people suffer from hunger and easily treatable diseases. In a fair and transparent election, no citizen will vote for such a person to be president,” Namalomba said.
He added that Mutharika is a proven leader with the people’s best interests at heart.
“The people of Malawi are demanding change and APM is the solution they seek. It’s time for a leader who truly cares for the wellbeing of his people and has the ability to lead us towards a better future,” Namalomba said.
But political expert George Phiri said it will be very hard for both Chakwera and Mutharika to win outright majority in next year’s elections.
According to Phiri, both Chakwera and Mutharika cannot win an election based on economic and governance issues.
“They have both failed to manage the economy in accordance with the expectations of Malawians. In fact, Malawians rejected Peter Mutharika’s bid in 2020 on the basis of an ailing economy and poor governance.
“The same thing is happening today, Malawians are crying foul because of enhanced poverty and poor governance. So, between these two leaders, none is better than the other,” Phiri said.
He added that none of the two has evidence that he has the backing of the people, saying it will be until the elections of 2025 are held.
“Until then, both will be outshining each other to showcase what they have to offer to Malawians so that people can vote for them next year, 2025.
“Only Malawians have a winning case because they have the power to out-vote someone between the two,” Phiri said.
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