Africa-Press – Malawi. It is an open secret now that both the former State President Peter Mutharika and the incumbent President Lazarus Chakwera have expressed their interest in joining the presidential race in 2025.
Both contestants claim that it is by public demand from their respective political supporters that catalyzed their bid to stand again. Some Malawians are questioning if Peter Mutharika and Lazarus Chakwera are the only political giants in Malawi.
Truth be told, without any electoral alliances, Peter Mutharika and Lazarus Chakwera were the top two presidential candidates if the results of the 2019 presidential election are to go by. Even in the 2014 presidential election, it is on record that Peter Mutharika and Lazarus Chakwera emerged top two favourites.
As a matter of background, the fierce battle between the two contestants ensued the moment Dr. Chifundo Kachale, the Chairman of the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) announced that Dr. Lazarus Chakwera was the victor of the 2020 fresh presidential election.
While Prof. Peter Mutharika was busy lamenting over spilled milk that the Constitutional Court had robbed him of his victory by nullifying the 2019 Presidential election, President Chakwera started putting political structures that will enable him to stay in power beyond 2025.
Some people may be mesmerized by how President Chakwera has strategically deployed a paraphernalia of arsenals to stay in power. President Chakwera literally knows that there are three arms of government vis a vis the Executive, the Judiciary, and the Legislature.
First, Chakwera made sure that the Malawi National Assembly is headed by the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) diehard, Hon. Catherine Gotani Hara. It is on record that Catherine Gotani Hara played a pivotal role in electing the Leader of the Opposition in parliament, Mr. (not Dr. ) Kondwani Nankhumwa.
This MCP-calculated move has opened a can of worms and squabbles that have culminated in a leadership struggle in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Second, President Chakwera has also captured the Judiciary by appeasing some judges who presided over the 2020 presidential elections case through selective promotions. This is a very good strategic move since Justices of the Supreme Court of Appeal are the final arbiters of the Malawi justice system.
What this politically and legally means is that if Prof. Peter Mutharika complains to the court about any electoral irregularities in the 2025 presidential election, chances are high that he may not win the case even if it is appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Third, have you wondered why Prof. Peter Mutharika and the entire DPP have been losing court cases one after another? There is a school of thought that Chakwera’s government has strategically implemented judge shopping colloquially called judicial tourism to disadvantage the main opposition party as far as the fair justice system in Malawi is concerned.
The last nail on the coffin is the ruling party’s wishful thinking that the High Court will bar Prof. Peter Mutharika from standing on the DPP ticket as a presidential candidate when the Malawi Constitution permits him to do so.
This is why some political analysts have unanimously concluded that the trio, Ken Msonda, Frederick Malata, and Thomas Nyirongo, who have dragged Peter Mutharika to court are obviously well-paid MCP mercenaries.
The fact remains that politics is a complicated discipline as it is very dynamic. Much as the Judiciary is our final arbiter, it must be appreciated that political squabbles need political solutions.
In the final analysis, no matter how colossal the political turbulence may appear, it is highly likely that Prof. Peter Mutharika will battle it out with Reverend Dr. Lazarus Chakwera face-to-face in the forthcoming presidential election in 2025. This situation is inevitable.
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