Lilongwe City Mayor Desmond Bikoko has pledged to support Grace Kwelepeta, who is Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) candidate for Zomba Malosa.
This, has put to rest rumours that Bikoko will contest as an independent candidate for the constituency.
Speaking at a Press Conference in Zomba, Bikoko said the main reason for not contesting is to avoid dividing the DPP votes between him and Kwelepeta.
“We are all President Peter Mutharika’s children, dividing the votes would give a chance to another political party to win the parliamentary seat for this constituency,” said Bikoko.
But some of his supporters who were present at the briefing were not happy with the decision and threatened to boycott the elections altogether.
One of the supporters, Christina Sambo expressed her disapproval and pleaded with Bikoko to contest as an independent candidate.
“As it is, the current DPP candidate cannot win because the primaries were free and fair, some of the people who were called to vote were not eligible to take part in the elections but the presiding officer ignored the concerns we raised,” said Sambo.
However, Bikoko stood firm to his decision and reiterated that he will not contest but he will fully support the DPP to win the constituency whose incumbent legislator is People’s Party’s Roy Kachale.
In a separate interview, Victor Musowa who was the Presiding Officer for the primary elections in the area dismissed the allegations that primary elections were not free and fair.
“We used the electoral colleges that we were given at the National Governing Council which was already signed by both candidates,” said the Mulanje Bale parliamentarian.
Following the disagreements at the primaries, Bikoko withdrew from the elections. A few days later, the Capital City Mayor announced that he has quit front line politics but he will remain a DPP loyalist.
