Dan Msowoya falls in Aford primaries

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ormer Alliance for Democracy (Aford) spokesperson Dan Msowoya has lost primary elections in Mzuzu City Constituency the party conducted on Monday.

Msowoya lost the primaries to Apostle McHellings Kayala with 54 votes against 89 in a two-horse race.

Msowoya has since indicated that he is contemplating to contest as an independent candidate in the May 20Tripartite Elections.

Returning officer for the primaries Geoffrey Mwanza, who is also Aford district chairperson, confirmed with The Nation of the outcome.

But Msowoya described the elections as biased against him due to his regular criticism of Aford president Enoch Chihana.

He said the primaries used unconstitutional system of voting whereby the electorate stood behind their desired candidate.

“Normally, when this system is used, there is an element of intimidation and bias. But this was planned and preconceived to get rid of me,” he said.

But Mwanza laughed off Msowoya’s claims, saying the elections were free and fair.

“People were asked whether to vote through a secret ballot or to stand behind their desired candidate and people shouted in favour of the latter. So, we do not see any problem with that,” he said.

Kayala, who is also a cleric under Faith Ministries International, expressed satisfaction with the primaries.

“It’s a positive step and gives me encouragement as we approach the Tripartite Elections,” he said.

The primaries were conducted despite earlier reports that the party will endorse its aspirants without going through primaries because there are no people to compete.

The party is going into the tripartite elections without fielding a presidential candidate. It is expected that they will support People’s Party (PP) presidential candidate Joyce Banda.