Africa-Press – Malawi. The Malawi Congress Party (MCP) national executive committee (NEC) has thrown its full weight behind former president Lazarus Chakwera, shutting down growing calls for his resignation after the party’s loss in the September 16 General Election.
Speaking after a heated NEC meeting in Lilongwe on Wednesday, party publicity secretary Jessie Kabwila declared that Chakwera’s leadership remains intact.
“All party structures agreed to support Dr. Lazarus Chakwera as the party’s president. He is not going anywhere,” Kabwila said.
Kabwila said the NEC met to conduct a post-mortem on the election defeat and has since hired an independent consultant to investigate what went wrong and recommend reforms ahead of the 2030 polls.
She hinted that the party believes “a lot of scheming” took place in the last election, citing ongoing court cases as evidence.
The NEC’s firm stance came just as a 14-day ultimatum expired—a deadline issued by a faction led by former Kasungu West MP Alex Major, which demanded that Chakwera call for an emergency convention and step down.
Major claims support from 42 district chairpersons, but we could only confirm one—Rappozo Phiri of Limbe—while Zomba chair Ziyad Machemba dismissed the revolt.
Reacting to the NEC resolution, Major accused the committee of overstepping its constitutional mandate, arguing that only a convention can decide on the party presidency.
“Our demands still stand,” he said. “The 14 days have elapsed, and we are waiting for formal communication before our next move.”
Political analysts say MCP now faces a delicate internal battle.
Political Science Association spokesperson Mavuto Bamusi warned of a “potential leadership crisis,” while George Chaima suggested that “some within the party are clearly hungry for power.”
Chakwera, a former Malawi Assemblies of God president, took over MCP in 2013 after defeating veteran leader John Tembo. He finished second to Peter Mutharika in both the 2014 and 2019 elections before triumphing in the court-ordered 2020 Fresh Presidential Election under the Tonse Alliance.
But five years later—with Tonse fractured and voter confidence eroded—Malawi Electoral Commission chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja declared Mutharika the winner of the 2025 presidential race with 56.8 percent of the vote against Chakwera’s 36.6 percent.
For now, the NEC has made its position clear: Chakwera stays put.
The question is—will the rest of the party follow suit?
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