By Cathy Maulidi:
The former governing People’s Party (PP) started its elective conference Friday in Lilongwe.
With the elections for the party’s central committee members scheduled for today, a total of 16 positions will go unopposed.
Among the uncontested positions are those of president, vice presidents for all regions and Secretary General.
This means party president Joyce Banda will retain her position unopposed, with Ephraim Chivunde as vice president for the South, Lawrence Bisika for the East, Duncan Kawonga for the North and Peter Kamange for the Central region.
Kelvin Chakhame will be Secretary General without a challenger.
He will replace current Secretary General Ibrahim Matola who was not at the convention.
When we contacted him, Matola said he will also not attend the convention today.
“Yes I wasn’t at the convention and I’m not contesting on any position. I have left the position for others to take it. I have been Secretary General for a long time so someone else should take the position,” he said.
Matola is currently Minister of Energy in the Lazarus Chakwera-led government.
This means out of the 31 positions to be filled, only 15 will be contested for and many of them are deputies.
Speaking when opening the convention, Banda said holding of the conference means that the party is still vibrant and has people who love it.
She went on to announce that the party has been having talks with Mafunde party president George Mnesa and they have resolved to go into an alliance.
“So I’m here to announce that PP is going into an alliance with Mafunde but in terms of what we have agreed, we will announce that in near future,” she said.
Banda told the media in an interview that she will do what the delegates will tell her to do regarding the elections next year.
“The delegates will decide for me whether I should be on the ballot next year or not. I can’t say that on my own, they will tell me,” she said.
In a speech that centered on what her government did in 2012 to 2014, Banda recounted how she tackled food shortages.
Commenting on corruption, Banda said some people tried to dent her image by spreading stories that she is corrupt.
“I wasn’t involved in corruption and I stood by the truth, that’s why I’m here today,” she said.
At the convention, United Democratic Front delegates, People’s Development Party and Mafunde delegates were present. The voting process takes place today.
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