Former President Peter Mutharika says he is not to blame for the Democratic Progressive Party’s loss in the 2020 presidential elections.
Mutharika who is leader of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was speaking on Saturday in Blantyre where he was guest of honour at the DPP fundraising dinner.
In his speech, the former president condemned people who claim that the DPP lost the 2020 presidential elections to President Lazarus Chakwera because of Mutharika. He said such people are stupid because they do not know what he went through before he became president in 2014.
“In 2014, I was teargassed and there were five assassination attempts on my life. You have no idea what you are talking about, so stop blaming me for the loss in the 2020 elections, especially you the young people,” said Mutharika.
He further defended himself by arguing that after the 2019 elections he had no idea that within a year there will be another election and the June 2020 elections were only confirmed in February that year. He suggested that the party was not well prepared for the elections because it takes fives years to prepare for polls.
He also defended his record in the 2020 elections saying he got about 40 percent of votes in 2020 which is more than the percentages in 2019 and 2014 elections.
According to Mutharika, the party lost the 2020 elections because Vice President Saulos Chilima who had 20 percent of votes in 2019 joined forces with President Lazarus Chakwera who had 35 percent of votes .
“This gave them 55 percent in 2020 elections. There is no way we could win with a coalition that was put together,” said Mutharika.
The DPP held the dinner and dance to raise funds for its convention which is expected to be held this year as well as to prepare the party for the 2025 presidential elections.
In his address, Mutharika said the party need to have the right message and the right candidate in order for the party to return to power in the 2025 elections.
“Malawi people expect a candidate who can manage the economy. So if you elect a person who has no substance, forget about returning to power. People in Malawi are no longer stupid,” said Mutharika.
He also took time to castigate the Chakwera administration for failing to fulfill its promises and failing to to manage the country’s economy, saying the DPP administration left forex amounting US$1.4 billion equating to six months of foreign reserves but the money has been depleted under the current administration.
According to Mutharika, he offered the services of DPP economic experts to the Chakwera administration to help resolve the economic woes but the government refused.
“As a Malawian I want to this country to succeed and not to be destroyed so I offered my boys but the government refused because they are too proud,” said Mutharika.
He also described the Chakwera administration as clueless and incompetent, saying the government, “sees nothing, hears nothing, knows nothing and does nothing.”
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