My Thought

Sometimes I wonder

I feel Jessie Kabwila needs reminding that there is nothing new when she says the elections were rigged against the Malawi Congress Party (MCP).
In 2009, the party’s presidential candidate John Tembo also claimed the elections were stolen from him when he lost by a landslide to Bingu wa Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
In 2004, running for the first time on the MCP ticket as presidential candidate, Tembo cried wolf too about his victory being robbed.

 
The courts rejected his petition because it was made outside the allowed time.
In 1999, Gwanda Chakuamba, losing as presidential candidate for the MCP/Alliance for Democracy (Aford) team-up to Bakili Muluzi, also claimed rigging. The courts dismissed the allegations.
I am surprised that Kabwila continues to allege that the elections were rigged despite her party spurning the chance of proving the allegations in court.

 
The last time I checked, there was no petition in court from MCP challenging presidential results on grounds of rigging.
It means the party realised that pursuing the matter in court, based on what they have, would be a wasted exercise.
On this basis, therefore, I wonder what Kabwila wants to achieve by continuing to make claims that her party has avoided to prove at an appropriate forum.
If it is to attack the legitimacy of the current government, I don’t know how she thinks she will succeed.
The largest international elections observation group was from the European Union (EU). They did not just come here to enjoy our snacks and return home. They came with full backing of the EU membership.
Their verdict was that there was no evidence of rigging, even after analysing the MCP information. What they confirmed is what every electoral stakeholder said—that irregularities littered the process.

 
According to these observers, the irregularities did not form a pattern of favouring a particular candidate to nourish any rigging theory.
But even as they existed, these observers said, the size of irregularities could not change the result.
A few weeks ago, US President Barack Obama invited President Peter Mutharika to join other African leaders at a White House African summit.
No US president invites a leader of a government whose legitimacy the US government does not endorse.
Commonwealth secretary general, Kamalesh Sharma, welcomed President Mutharika into the Commonwealth family. This was endorsement.

 
On his part, United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, did the same.
Closer home, both the African Union (AU) and Southern African Development Community (Sadc) have respectively endorsed our election outcome.
It, thus, means in the eyes of the international community, there is a legitimate government in Malawi.

I wonder, therefore, which world Madam Kabwila intends to convince that Malawi does not have a valid government.
I thought the woman is in an advantageous position, which she should put to good use, instead of making irrational noise.
Members of Parliament (MPs) as well as members of the public can propose pieces of legislation for consideration of the House.
With everyone acknowledging electoral shortcomings in the May 20 tripartite elections, does Kabwila not consider it an opportunity for her to mobilise noise that would foster electoral reforms?
Which is worthwhile between alleging rigging that will never be proven and working hard to formulate a bill that proposes radical changes to our electoral laws and systems?
Sometimes I wonder! n

Related Articles

One Comment

  1. Your arguing on the basis of opinion which I feel lacks intelligence. Whether Obama or what so ever organisation welcomes APM as Malawian president does not imply ligimacy in his power ascension. A simple example is Robert Mugabe, despite everyone acknowledging world wide his tyrannical leadership, he is still a recognised Zimbabwean president. So my point is that the international community cannot be used as a yard stick in your determination because you are exposing your lack of intellectual balanced judgement.

Check Also
Close
Back to top button