A political analyst has advised the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to move on from former President Peter Mutharika and give a chance to other members of the party to lead the DPP and represent it in the 2025 presidential elections.
This comes amidst wrangles that fail to cease in the blue camp, as some quarters argue that the wrangles have a negative bearing on the DPP’s chance to win in the 2025 elections.
Several senior party officials have endorsed Mutharika, who ruled Malawi between 2014 and 2020, as the DPP torchbearer for the 2025 presidential elections.
However, some Malawians have argued that the party should give a chance to party members such as Kondwani Nankhumwa, Dalitso Kabambe and Bright Msaka who have shown interest to replace Mutharika as party president and become DPP presidential candidate in the upcoming elections.
Commenting on the sentiments, Mkhutche said despite the Tonse Alliance’s underperformance, DPP is not the people’s available choice because of Mutharika.
“DPP should now be ready to be in the post-Mutharika era. Although Tonse Alliance has performed below expectations, DPP is not the people’s readily available choice and one reason for that is that Peter Mutharika is not appealing beyond DPP. The party should rebrand itself with new leadership,” said Mkhutche.
Going forward, Mkhutche advised the DPP to conduct a credible convention to sanitize itself.
“The party needs a credible convention to sanitize itself. For now, the problem is a few powerful individuals who are overruling the party’s constitution for their own ends. The convention will place the right people in positions as well as a constitution. This will gather the scattered pieces,” he added.
Mkhutche also highlighted that despite the fact that Tonse Alliance government hasn’t performed to the expectation of Malawians, it is not a guarantee that DPP is the next choice.
“DPP has to show itself as ready to lead and the conflicts we are seeing now are telling us otherwise,” he said.
Recently, DPP summoned Kondwani Nankhumwa who is also the party’s president in the South, for conducting a whistle stop tour without the permission of the party leader Peter Mutharika. However, the high court in Lilongwe nullified the disciplinary committee.
