Malawi’s two main opposition parties have joined forces in an effort to defeat the country’s president in a re-run of last year’s annulled presidential election.
President Peter Mutharika won last year’s election with just over a third of the votes amid controversies and claims of irregularities which culminated with the nullification of the result by the constitutional court last month.
Thousands of supporters of the two political parties gathered at Kamuzu Institute of Sports in the capital Lilongwe on Thursday to witness the signing of the pact between the two opposition parties – the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and the United Transformation Movement (UTM).
Addressing thousands of people who attended the ceremony, UTM president Saulos Chilima asked followers of the two political parties to accept any leader who will be chosen to lead the political partnership.
“When the torchbearer is announced, let us all accept that leader. You should trust us because we are working together for the good of the nation,” said Chilima.
He further urged supporters of the two parties to forget about the past and move forward saying the aim of the alliance is to make sure that the challenges that Malawians have been facing in the country are put to an end.
“We will make sure that this alliance reaches the expectations of Malawians by reducing hunger and making medical services available in hospitals,” he said.
Their combined tally from last year’s presidential election was over 50% of the votes, so this alliance could make life extremely difficult for President Peter Mutharika.
For now though he does not look ready to risk losing power in a re-run of the poll. The president has made sweeping changes at the top of the military, has refused to ratify new electoral bills and has appointed a new cabinet.
If, as expected, Malawi soon sees cases of the coronavirus, the combination of a health crisis and a political dispute could be extremely dangerous.
