Mutharika takes local politics to UNGA

President Peter Mutharika last night took domestic politics to the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA74) in New York, stating that the May 21 Tripartite Elections were credible and accused Malawi Congress Party (MCP) of perpetrating post-election violence.

In his address at the UNGA delivered at about 10.30pm Malawi time and made available to The Nation, the President told the world stage that he won his second and final constitutional five-year term of office through a process that was duly audited by UN-affiliated network.

Said Mutharika: “This election was unanimously declared free, fair and credible by the European Union, the African Union, Sadc [Southern Africa Development Community] and the Commonwealth observer missions.

“But the opposition led by Malawi Congress Party decided not to accept this very credible election. This is the party that ruled Malawi under dictatorship for [31] years.”

The President’s sentiments at Unga come at a time when back home MCP president Lazarus Chakwera and UTM Party president Saulos Chilima are seeking nullification of the presidential election results in the Constitutional Court citing alleged irregularities.

In the ongoing case, Mutharika was made the first respondent as the declared winner with Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) as the second respondent.

In his address, the President, a professor of international law, said the opposition went to court but ignored the court process and alleged that they waged a vicious campaign of violence in the disguise of demonstrations.

“Their violence betrayed a desire for ethnic cleansing, a desire for civil war, [and] an attempt to demolish the economy and to make Malawi an ungovernable State of lawlessness.

“We responded with peaceful resistance and insisted on the rule of law. We fought violence with peace; and fought hate with love. This is what saved Malawi from degenerating into chaos. We have seen democracy and the rule of law at their best in Malawi,” he told the world.

Malawi, he said, remains a peaceful and stable country that people have always known.

Like he did in his address to Unga73 last year, Mutharika took a swipe at the UN for what he feels is hypocrisy where other States are considered as small.

He said: “I repeat what I have said before: there are no small or poor nations in the United Nations. All we have are nations of the United Nations. In fact, this organisation would be more powerful, more effective if we all participated in decision-making on security.

“But for some reason, there are nations that refuse to share power with African nations. In this regard, the United Nations is undemocratic. And yet, the same countries and the UN are preachers of the gospel of democracy in Africa. But Africans are sometimes more democratic than Western countries.”

Mutharika called upon the UN to implement the Security Council reforms where Africa must be on the UN Security Council.

“We cannot ignore and marginalise an entire continent of 1.3 billion people. We cannot marginalise and repress one third of Member States of this organisation. It is a mockery that we meet to galvanise multilateral efforts while we marginalise and repress other Member States.”

The President said investing in education is the best way of investing in all other sectors of society and that was why in Malawi, education gets the lion’s share of the national budget every year.

He appealed to the world to remember its commitment to save the only planet people live in; saying climate change is an existential threat.

“In March this year, Malawi yet again suffered another devastating national disaster. We were hit by Cyclone Idai together with our Mozambican and Zimbabwean brothers.

“We lost our loved ones. Infrastructure damaged. Cyclone Idai destroyed many people’s livelihood. Malawi needs over $370 million [about K266.4 billion] to recover.

“My government, in collaboration with the UN Country Team and other partners, has so far raised $45 million [K33.3 billion] for immediate response. This has gone into food, temporary shelters, relocation and medication,” Mutharika said.

The President, who said he was speaking for the voiceless, said as the assembly was in progress, there are many losing their precious life because the UN cannot protect them.

“There are many escaping from their countries because we cannot protect them. There are many helpless children and women being trafficked and sold like cargo without value. Because we cannot protect them! There are many vulnerable children heading families or failing to go to school. As an organisation, we have urgent work to do!”

Unga74 was officially opened on September 25.

Prior to the opening of Unga, Mutharika has been attending a number of side events, including speaking on behalf of Least Developed Countries and meeting potential investors.

Mutharika is scheduled to return home this Saturday.