Africa-Press – Malawi. By Pemphero Malimba & Veronica Kafumphe:
The Presidential Debates Taskforce has engaged the governing Malawi Congress Party (MCP) on prospects of President Lazarus Chakwera participating in presidential debates that have been organised before the September 16, 2025 Presidential Election.
The debates are scheduled for August and September this year.
The taskforce is a non-partisan, multi-stakeholder committee comprising representatives of the media, government, civil society organisations and other actors.
Chimwendo BandaA statement released by the taskforce Thursday indicates that its members met MCP secretary general Richard Chimwendo Banda on the matter on Wednesday.
It says Chimwendo Banda expressed hope that the MCP presidential candidate would be part of the debates.
The committee has, however, said Chimwendo Banda was quick to ask for more time to consult before giving a definite answer.
“I will be back on the [issue of the] President’s participation [later]. He [the President] has attended the two debates in the past, and there is no reason not to attend the debates this year. I am very optimistic he will attend,” Chimwendo Banda said.
Recently, members of the taskforce engaged representatives of the United Democratic Front and People’s Party, who it says expressed interest in being part of the debates.
“The taskforce also recently engaged officials from the Alliance for Democracy (Aford), led by the secretary general, Linda Limbe. The party also principally agreed to participate in the debates but signalled that it will sign the final agreement to participate in the debates once the party president [Enoch Chihana] gives it the green light,” it says.
Taskforce Chairperson Golden Matonga expressed optimism that the presidential debates would foster unity and co-existence.
Matonga said the debates would bring together candidates from political parties and ideologies to debate and openly agree to disagree on important policy issues.
Media Institute of Southern Africa-Malawi is chairing the taskforce with technical support from the National Democratic Institute.
Among other things, the debates are premised on enhancing citizen participation in the democratic process by providing candidates with a platform for articulating plans for the country.
The taskforce organised similar debates during the 2014 and 2019 Tripartite Elections.
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