Mbakuwaku Movement for Development (MMD) president Peter Kuwani says the party is refining its manifesto ahead of the fresh presidential election amid the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
In an interview on Wednesday at his office in Blantyre, the presidential hopeful said their manifesto has to be changed to align itself to the current economic challenges that have arisen due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said: “I would say the skeleton and spine of the manifesto are almost the same. But we have to be mindful that what we promised in 2019 may not be of great importance now that we are facing a Covid-19 induced depression.”
Kuwani said the manifesto will highlight such challenges and how the party will address them.
“For example, in 2019 I might have promised to say I will raise the minimum wage from K35 000 to K50 000, but this time around, it might not look appealing,” he said.
Kuwani added that his party is ready to pull a surprise in the forthcoming fresh poll, having amassed 20 369 votes in the disputed May 21 2019 Tripartite Elections.
He made his debut during last year’s election which he contested with Archibald Kawalang’oma as his running mate. He says he is maintaining the same running mate.
Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has since confirmed three candidates for the fresh presidential election, namely President Peter Mutharika of the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and United Democratic Front (UDF) Alliance; Lazarus Chakwera, who is leading the Tonse Alliance and Kuwani.
