DPP convention underway in Blantyre
Malawi’s former ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) convention is currently underway in Blantyre.
Delegates to the Democratic Progressive Party convention have filled the Comesa Hall in Malawi’s commercial city of Blantyre where the party is expected to elect members of the National Governing Council later today.
This is DPP’s first convention since the party was founded in 2005 by late President Bingu wa Mutharika.
The party is holding the convention under the theme “Finding our Destiny.”
Interim president Peter Mutharika will battle it out with aspirant Speaker of the Malawi National Assembly Henry Chimunthu Banda.
There will be a minute silence in honour of the late Bingu wa Mutharika before opening statements by chair of the convention Nicholas Dausi and Peter Mutharika.
According to the convention programme, all 18 national party positions will be contested for and results are due at the end of polling today (Thursday).
Earlier this morning, DPP released a 4-paged newsletter promoting the incumbent leader Peter Mutharika.
The newsletter says Mutharika, an accomplished internal law professor, got his baptism of politics just a month before the DPP convention after he was arrested and endured three nights in police cells.
But the newsletter has painted Chimuthu Banda as a coward who failed to declare he was DPP when he was asked.
“Chimunthu Banda, however, with a month to go to the convention suddenly discovered that he was blue after all sending many party faithful to question what had happened for the respected Speaker to come to his senses.
The newsletter concludes by declaring that it would be a gamble to entrust Chimunthu Banda with the candidacy of DPP.
“Perhaps as a running-mate he would fit into the bill,” concludes the paper which has been widely circulated at the convention venue, the Comesa Hall.
