Former Malawian president, Joyce Banda, has announced her decision to withdraw herself from the 2019 presidential race, and support the candidate running under the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), Lazarus Chakwera.
Banda, who was the country’s first female president upon assumption of office in 2012, confirmed her decision to the AFP saying, “Yes, it is true.”
In a joint statement released by the Malawi Congress Party and the People’s Party, the two parties noted that they begun talks in 2015, a year after Banda lost her presidential bid due to a multi-million dollar corruption case often referred to as “cashgate.”
After a self-imposed exile last year following the corruption allegations, which she alleged were politically motivated, Banda made a return to Malawi, joining forces with Vice President, Saulos Chilima, to form a coalition with the intent of defeating the incumbent president, Peter Mutharika.
“Malawi is bigger than individuals, as such we all have to set aside individual aspirations and embrace the greater and common good,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, according to Nyasa Times, the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has announced that campaigns for the 2019 elections will kick-off on March 19, with an event at the Bingu International Conference Centre in Lilongwe.
The event, which will launch the campaign season, has been themed: “Consolidating Malawi’s Democracy through Peaceful Campaign.”
President Mutharika, who is running for a second term under the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), will be joined in the presidential race by Lazarus Chakwera under the MCP; his vice president, Chilima who will run with a ticket from the United Transformation Movement (UTM); cabinet member and son of former Malawian president, Atupele Muluzu, who will run under the United Democratic Front (UDF).
All eight candidates participating in the May 21 presidential election have been urged by the electoral commission to attend the launch, as it has collaborated with the Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD), for a presentation on “Regulation of Handouts during Campaign.”
