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- Peter Mutharika, Malawi's former president, wants to run for office again at age 85 in 2025.
- Risking a bruising and divisive internal contest in his party, he claims the people are asking him to stand.
- Mutharika has never accepted the defeat of the 2020 presidential election.
Former Malawian president Peter Mutharika, 81, is considering running for presidency in 2025 because of "popular demand".
Many people are not happy with his successor, Lazarus Chakwera, his office said.
However, it won't be as easy because he will first have to go through party primary elections and deal with internal political issues in his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
News24 spoke to Makhumbo Munthali, a leading political analyst in Malawi, who is also the secretary-general of the Malawi Political Science Association, a local think tank on governance issues.
Lenin Ndebele: According to law what's Mutharika's likely situation?
Makhumbo Munthali: Our current laws do not bar Mutharika from standing. This is the case because he did not serve the maximum of two consecutive terms as president. This means he is eligible to stand for presidency and if he happens to win, he can only serve for a term (five years).
Ndebele: Does Mutharika have support from his party to go for the job?
Munthali: The Democratic Progressive Party is currently divided, with some showing allegiance to Mutharika and others to the party's vice-president, Kondwani Nankhumwa, the leader of the opposition in parliament. At the moment it's premature to determine whether the party is in support of his decision to stand or not.
Ndebele: If he finally decides to stand, what's the road ahead like?
Munthali: In the ideal situation the former president will have to present himself at the party's elective conference and compete with other aspirants in order for the party to decide whether he is eligible or not. The expectation is that the will of the party supporters through their representative delegates will have to reign supreme in determining whether Mutharika should lead the party or not. However, the recent developments in the Democratic Progressive Party clearly show, and learning from the history of party conventions in Malawi, this will be an impossibility.
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Elective conferences have often been characterised by a lack of adherence to intra-party democracy. This has led to these conferences being rubber-stamping platforms for the incumbent at the expense of other potentially capable aspirants.
Just recently, Mutharika was at loggerheads with the party's vice-president, Nankhumwa, following his expression of interest to contest for the party leadership at next year's elective conference. [Mutharika is the party leader].
Ndebele: What are the possible reasons behind his desire to run for office?
Munthali: Firstly, to frustrate Kondwani Nankhumwa, leader of the opposition in parliament, whom he doesn't trust and possibly thinks is an agent of the Tonse Alliance (the ruling coalition) with the objective of weakening the Democratic Progressive Party.
He (Mutharika) wants to ride on the Mutharika name or brand (his late big brother Bingu wa Mutharika was president of Malawi between 2004 and 2012) in order to prevent his now political enemy from assuming the party's leadership. This is perhaps, after realising that the other candidates he was positioning to take over from him cannot beat Nankhumwa at a party convention.
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The other reason is that Mutharika is taking advantage of the current worsening socio-economic situation in the country under the Tonse Alliance government by repositioning himself as someone who can restore the country.
Already, he has been propagating the narrative that the economy was better under his reign compared to the current situation. With the seeming divisions within the Tonse Alliance government (particularly between the Malawi Congress Party and United Transformation Movement), Mutharika might be thinking that come 2025, the Tonse Alliance may not go into the election as a united front. Hence, this would perhaps enhance his chances of winning the election.
Thirdly, Mutharika has never accepted the defeat of the 2020 presidential elections. He has, all along, been of the view that the Tonse Alliance conspired with some civic society leaders and the judiciary to "overthrow" his government.
As such, he would welcome any opportunity ahead to challenge the incumbent and retain power.
The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The stories produced through the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that may be contained herein do not reflect those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
