President Lazarus Chakwera says he intends to abide by what the Malawi Constitution says on the number of terms a president can serve.
Chakwera made the remarks on Wednesday in an interview with Straight Talk Africa Programme on VOA.
Asked if he will seek a third term, the Malawi leader said a third term is usually pursued by politicians who look to feed their ego more than feed the people.
He added that he swore to protect, preserve and defend the constitution.
“The Constitution presently does state certain limitations on the presidency for example and I intend to abide by that Constitution,” said Chakwera.
He further said that Malawians already rejected a life president following former President Kamuzu Banda’s 31-year rule.
“We spoke about a life president (in Malawi) and the people changed that and so the people do not want to go back there. Whether you are looking for a third term or not, we must remember what the people want and the people decided and you serve the people and their wishes,” said Chakwera.
Currently, the Malawi Constitution states that a president can only serve a maximum of two consecutive terms.
Asked on what he will do if his supporters insist that Malawi cannot do without him, Chakwera said no one is indispensable.
Chakwera, a former church leader, joined politics in 2013 and lost to Peter Mutharika in the 2014 presidential elections. Mutharika won again in the 2019 elections but the polls were nullified after Chakwera and Vice President Saulos Chilima challenged the results.
Following the 2020 fresh presidential elections, Chakwera became president after defeating Mutharika.
During the interview, Chakwera described the decision to challenge the results of the 2019 elections as the single most important decision that he has made in his political career.
Chakwera, however, added that he regrets his decision to give Mutharika the benefit of doubt following Mutharika’s win in the 2014 elections.
He said: “When you look back and you see the plunder and you see people that have died because of lack of medicines in our hospitals and you see a whole lot of things that have transpired that you wish had been different, then you begin to say did I make a wrong decision?”
