Member of Parliament for Rumphi East Kamlepo Kalua in January predicted defeat for the opposition if they did not field one presidential candidate and his words have come to pass.
Kalua, a People’s Party legislator for Rumphi East, urged opposition leaders to unite in order to defeat the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
He said a divided opposition is a weak opponent for DPP’s Peter Mutharika and the opposition can only win if they have one presidential candidate.
“Presidential candidates in opposition are surrounded by opportunists who don’t want a unified opposition for personal gains.
“Opposition is busy fighting each other and on top of that we have about 20 aspiring presidential candidates who are failing to unite. The results of 2019 polls will be divided among 20 presidential candidates and I am afraid the one who wins will have the minority vote, whether we like it or not,” Kalua said in a Facebook post.
He also predicted that the opposition leaders will only unite after the elections as they will be going to the courts after losing.
Fast forward four months, the opposition parties are fighting Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) over the elections as reports indicate that the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has won.
Before the elections, the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) managed to partner People’s Party and the PP endorsed MCP’s Lazarus Chakwera while former president Joyce Banda withdrew her bid.
Another opposition party UTM led by Malawi Vice President Saulos Chilima also made alliances with minor parties.
Following the polls, the last official results MEC released after counting votes from 75 percent of polling centres showed that Mutharika was leading with 40.9 percent, Chakwera of the MCP had 35.44 percent while Vice President Chilima was on 18 percent.
The MCP has since obtained an injunction stopping MEC from announcing final results of the elections saying the electoral body should first deal with irregularities that marred the presidential elections.
On Saturday, Chilima told MEC to nullify the results due to serious anomalies.
He added that the country “should regroup and prepare for credible elections to the satisfaction of the people of Malawi.”
