As President Peter Mutharika and his ruling Democratic Progressive Party privately lick their wound, Lilongwe has been turned into a sea of orange as opposition supporters celebrate a rare victory after the country’s constitutional court annulled the outcome of last year’s presidential election over widespread irregularities.
Since they mobilised near a public square in the capital, thousands of supporters of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and other small political groups marched in the streets making triumphant noises some of them to the effect that their demonstrations against the election results had been vindicated.
Month in month out; they had keep faith in their position which was premised on the contention that the outcome of the May 2019 election was deeply blemished by irregularities and therefore could not pass off as credible.
Many of the celebrants turned into revelers as the wave of organge swept across Lilongwe in party mode.
Even former president Joyce Banda and her People’s Party (PP) supporters, the Speaker of the National Assembly Catherine Gotani Hara and the Mayor of Lilongwe, Julianna Kaduya joined the carnival.
But is was the stage for MCP leader, Lazuras Chakwera to shine and he seized the chance.
He has been a constant as detractors of the DPP battled the poll results in the courts.
On Tuesday, exuding confidence, he hold the mammoth orange crowd that the time has come for his party to reclaim its leadership position from what he called the wrong hands.
“Results from the court was a new dawn for our party to strategies and take back the country” he said to wild cheers from his supporters:
Chakwera”s MCP under independence leader Kamuzu Hastings Banda ruled Malawi for 30 years between 1964 and 1994, when they succumbed to the then opposition and lost power.
And with the verdict of the constitutional court, providing a new spring in their steps, Chakwera is already dreaming of an MCP comeback but warns supporters that this can only happen if they troop out to vote for the party in the forthcoming elections:
This will likely happen 151 days after the constitutional court ordered a rerun of the polls.
The May 2019 polls were close enough but fresh elections to test Mutharka”s popularity once again will provide the biggest of crucibles, political analysts in Malawi have been quick to point out.
FT/as/APA