‘Irregularities give us room to improve’
The first phase of the on-going Malawi Congress Party (MCP) primaries has been marred by several irregularities, including complaints by mostly losing aspirants. As the party goes into the second phase of the primaries, Our Reporter AYAMI MKWANDA engages the party’s spokesperson the Reverend Maurice Munthali on this and other issues. Excerpts:
Q
: How do you react to irregularities that have marred the first phase of MCP’s primaries?
A
: The party feels that the irregularities are arising from the fact that there are now more people who want to identify themselves with the MCP and they are fighting for opportunities in the various positions at constituency and council levels.
However, the party is not happy with what we would regard as irregularities in selected constituencies. There may be other factors giving rise to such. We do not want to speculate on these factors. Suffice to say that non-compliance with the set guidelines for the primaries may be one of those factors.
What is paramount in this exercise from the party’s point of view is that anything that may seem to be an irregularity surrounding these primary elections is healthy for democracy as it gives us room to sort out our house ahead of the national polls in 2019.
Q
: There are concerns that the party is sabotaging aspirants that have been vocal against the party’s leadership. What do you say?
A
: Our president, Lazarus Chakwera, has had no opponents and will never have any. He instead allows everyone in the party to express their opinions freely even when those opinions are not in line with his own. This, he does because he realises that we are in a democratic dispensation. The primary elections are a democratic means to choose who will be the people’s representatives in their various jurisdictions. This means that it is the people who have the power to choose their leaders. So, the issue of eliminating anybody does not arise and is a baseless assertion.
Q
: How prepared are you for the second phase?
A
: MCP has already got clear guidelines which are meant to create a conducive atmosphere for these elections. We can only remind our leaders at all levels to ensure that the guidelines are complied with. These include, but not
limited to, agreeing on the electoral college, venue of the primaries and the date. All candidates must then agree on the results after transparent counting of voters.
Q
: Many female aspirants have not done well in the elections. How do you react to this?
A
: MCP is a signatory to the 50-50 campaign. To this end, our manifesto, which will be launched soon, has deliberate policies of promoting women so that they play pivotal roles in developing this country. In the meantime, the party has allowed room for 17 women in the National Executive Committee through a democratic process. The party realises that women are usually misused, abused and in some cases prohibited from unleashing their potential in terms of developing this country. MCP is poised to place women in key government positions after we assume the reigns of power come May 2019.
Q
: Many aspirants dump their parties after losing in primary elections and contest as independent candidates. Are there any measures to ensure no one leaves the party after falling at primaries?
A
: MCP will not restrict anyone from choosing where they want to belong because the Republican Constitution provides for all freedoms, including those of choice and association. However, we also believe that those who are bona fide members of the party will not leave it because they have not sailed through the primaries. This is why we encourage all aspirants to sign a memorandum of understanding and code of conduct so that they can show their loyalty and commitment to the party’s values and common agenda.
Q
: Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has complained that some parties are not assigning their monitors to voter registration centres. Is MCP sending its monitors to these centres?
A
: The party has no deliberate intention not to send monitors to any centre during this voter registration exercise. There are some factors that may cause a scenario where the party is not represented. In any case, the party will ensure that we have monitors at every centre because we are aware that the credibility and transparency of the national polls starts with voter registration.
Q
: Voter apathy continues to be noted in many parts of the country and you have been insisting on that MEC should go back to the centres where it registered few voters. Is this practical?
A
: Our call for MEC to redo the voter registration in some areas is neither selective nor biased. We will continue to ask MEC to go back to any district we feel deserves a repeat of the exercise. This includes Blantyre and Kasungu. However, we want MEC to be fair enough in the manner they will consider going back to the respective or concerned districts. It is our hope they will first go to those districts that needed the repeat before Blantyre district.
