Africa-Press – Malawi. Malawi’s political arena has been jolted by explosive allegations from UTM Secretary General Patricia Kaliati, who claims Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Peter Mutharika is secretly plotting to step down just a month after the September elections—paving the way for his running mate, former Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Jane Ansah, to assume the presidency.
According to Kaliati, this cloak-and-dagger succession plan sheds light on why the DPP flatly rejected UTM’s request for the running mate position during alliance negotiations. Installing Ansah—whose tenure at MEC remains deeply controversial over the annulled 2019 elections—would allow the party to “keep the presidency in the family,” she alleged.
But the intrigue doesn’t end there. Insiders allege that Mutharika has already promised veteran party strongman George Chaponda the Vice-Presidency under an Ansah administration, with both figures allegedly earmarked for a Saturday, 1 November 2025 swearing-in. Chaponda, long dogged by the infamous “maizegate” scandal, has also courted national outrage over past comments declaring that “no one from the Northern Region will ever rule Malawi.”
The alleged arrangement has reportedly unsettled senior DPP figures, who fear an Ansah–Chaponda ticket would saddle the party with leaders viewed as too old, divisive, and politically compromised to rally the country. “It’s a dangerous gamble,” one party insider confided, warning that the scheme risks splintering the DPP, alienating key regional blocs, and throwing governance into turmoil.
While the DPP scrambles to control the narrative, President Lazarus Chakwera’s camp has seized on the revelations to contrast his record of stability, crisis management, and inclusive leadership against what critics now call “the politics of succession intrigue.”
With just weeks to the polls, Malawians may be forced to weigh a stark choice: continuity under Chakwera’s steady, unifying hand—or a DPP presidency clouded by alleged backroom deals, looming uncertainty, and leaders whose credibility is already in question.
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