Former Energy Minister in late president Bingu Wa Mutharika’s administration Grain Malunga on Monday pulled out of DPP primary elections for Chikwawa North constituency due to disagreements on the legitimate number of delegates to vote.
Malunga who once served as Member of Parliament for the area from 2009 to 2014 protested over selection of area committee members in Mwamphanzi ward.
Malunga the presiding officer for the elections to call out names of the delegates for transparent purposes.
However, Lomeyo Bwanali who came from the Party’s Secretariat to preside over the elections did not comply with Malunga’s request.
In Ndalanda ward in the same constituency aspiring councillor Kondwan Alfazema also pulled out on similar grounds.
During an interview, presiding officer for the primaries Bwanali said the party will announce the outcome of the primary elections without specifying whether the party shall conduct a rerun of the election in the Constituency.
Malunga was competing against the youthful politician Owen Chomanika.
In an interview, Chomanika accused Malunga of pulling out of the contest after noting that he was not going to win.
On the other hand, Grain Malunga insisted his pulling out meant that the elections were cancelled in the constituency.
Malunga said he has written the Director of Elections in the DPP for the constituency to have a rerun of the elections.
However, efforts to get the party’s stand on the primary elections proved futile as the Director of Elections in the party Ben Phiri could not be reached.
Spokesperson for the Dausi said the party is yet to get a report on the primary elections in Chikwawa.
Regional Governor for the Party Honourable Charles Mchacha also refused to comment on the matter saying the primary elections are being conducted by northern region executive committee of the DPP and that the southern region committee is overseeing primary elections in the northern region.
The ruling DPP has started conducting primary elections in the Lower Shire districts of Nsanje and Chikwawa targeting constituencies where the party does not have sitting MPs.
These constituencies are Chikwawa North, Chikwawa East and Nsanje Lalanje.
This has raised fears as to whether the party intends to impose candidates in the constituencies where it has sitting MPs in the lower shire.
