Coming To Terms With Reality:MCP Finally Admits Defeat,Our Failure To Field MPs In The South Affected Us-Kabwila By Sera Makondetsa, DailyTimes Opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) has finally attributed its poor showing in the recent May 20 tripartite elections due to its failure to field enough candidates in the Southern Region. This follows the evaluation that the party conducted to find out as to why it performed poorly in the Southern Region compared to other regions. In an interview yesterday, MCP’s spokesperson Jessie Kabwila, said although rigging cannot be ruled out, failure to field parliamentary candidates in Southern Region contributed to its overall performance. “We could have done much better if we had fielded candidates in all constituencies in the Southern Region. Again, failure of UDF and PP to stand out in the Southern Region also played a part in the number of votes we got,” she said. Her remarks come few days after MCP said it would conduct an assessment on why it performed dismally in the Southern Region. MCP Secretary General Gustave Kaliwo said it was important for the party to make inroads in the region in the next elections. The party registered an impressive performance in the Central Region but that was undermined by its abysmal performance in the Southern Region that led to its loss in the May 20 elections. Kaliwo said the new leadership was determined to build a countrywide support. “The party has new leaders such as Dr. Lazarus Chakwera and so people should not think that we will continue faring badly in the Southern Region as has been the case in the past. This is our first election since the change of leadership,” said Kaliwo. Chancellor College based political commentator Joseph Chunga said the party’s performance was not strange. “As a party they need to prove that they have indeed rebranded in the way they operate,” said Chunga. He urged the party’s new leadership to reach out to the Southern Region, adding that the party’s approach to the region in the last elections was not different from the past elections. “What is critical for the party is to come up with a strategy that will help it to augment national support. Otherwise their approach to the Southern Region was just the same as the old MCP.” Said Chunga. Another observer Mustapha Hussein said MCP needs to remove the perception that it belongs to the Central Region. “The party has to work hard to establish structures across the country. Otherwise the trend of dismal performance in the South will continue,” he said. He also said the failure by the party to have candidates in some parts of the southern region was proof that it lacked structures on the ground. In the May 20 Polls, Democratic Progressive Party’s leader Peter Mutharika won 36.4 percent of vote.MCP torchbearer Lazarus Chakwera won 27.8 percent, while former President Joyce Banda who won 20.2 percent. Mec Chairperson Maxon Mbendera said that the presidential elections were held in free, fair, and credible manner although anomalies were discovered at some polling stations.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 08:28:02 +0000
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