Embattled Ex-Malawi President BakiliMuluzi is expected to begin talks with the leader of a second opposition party, the Malawi Congress Party(MCP), today aimed at forming an alliance ahead of the May 19 general election.This comes after the electoral commission declared Muluzi ineligible as a presidentialcandidate in the upcoming vote after he served two consecutive terms asMalawi's leader from 1994 to 2004. But the former president maintains he iseligible, vowing to lead his opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) in thecampaign after hiring three more foreign lawyers to challenge the electoralcommission ban.
Political Science Professor Blessing Chissinga at Malawi'sChancellor University College in Zomba tells reporter Peter Clottey that thelatest poll shows incumbent President Bingu Wa Mutharika will win the upcomingelection.
"ThisI think was expected, especially following the decision by the Malawi ElectoralCommission (MEC) to bar President Muluzi from contesting the elections, and thedecision was announced a day before he was to launch his campaign. And what hesaid at his campaign was to assure his supporters that the decision of MECshould not be demoralizing to them because the ruling party (DemocraticPeople's Party) or the (DPP) is afraid of the strong possibility of theopposition unity, which will soon come up with strategies in order to make sureMutharika loses the presidency in the May 19 general election," Chissingapointed out.
Hesaid the latest poll released Wednesday shows incumbent President Mutharikaenjoys enormous support ahead of the general election, which sets the stage forhis reelection.
"Today,I was just presenting the results of what we call the Afro barometer survey.And this is a public opinion survey, and it appears across the three regions ofthe country that the majority of Malawians, about 60 percent, will vote forPresident Mutharika and his DPP, which leaves Tembo (leader of the oppositionMCP) and Muluzi with 40 percent. So there is some chance that even if they cometogether, it may be difficult for a combined opposition to dislodge the DPP,"he said.
Chissingasaid the outcome of the May 19 general election might come down to how seriousall the political parties are in wooing or convincing voters to side with theirparty.
"Itwill all boil down to how these three political major heavyweights will carryout their campaign. The advantage of President Muluzi and John Tembo is thatthese guys are have very good oratory skills and they are able to connect veryeasily in simplistic terms with the ordinary man and woman in the street. But onthe other hand Mutharika has serious problems and I think he has a verytechnocratic approach to politics and this make it difficult for him to strikea chord with the ordinary man and woman, especially during the campaign trail,"Chissinga noted.
Hesaid incumbent President Mutharika seems to have the upper hand in the upcomingelection due to how well Malawians see him as managing the economy well andfulfilling his pledge to provide food security.
"Theadvantage that he (Mutharika) has is that he has delivered on the mostimportant thing for Malawians, which is achieving food security. Since 2005,the country has had enough to eat and this explains probably the popularity ofPresident Mutharika," he said.
Chissingasaid the decision by the Malawi Electoral Commission to bar the formerpresident from representing the opposition UDF in the May 19 election has notoverly incurred the displeasure of most Malawians.
"So,far I think there hasn't been a public reaction, but there have been severalcivil society organizations who have urged the Malawi Electoral Commission toseek to amend the electoral calendar. But what is reassuring is that the HighCourt in the country anticipated that there would be a challenge of thisnature. So what the chief justice did was to develop guidelines on how todispose of electoral cases. And according to these guidelines, the chiefjustice instructed the judiciary to dispose of these cases within 14 days,"Chissinga noted.
Meanwhile,former President Muluzi told his supporters during the launch of his challengethat he will still represent the UDF in the upcoming election. He adds that thevarious opposition parties should come together to form a united oppositionparty with strategies to defeat incumbent Mutharika on May 19.
Inrejecting the former president's candidacy last Friday, Malawi's ElectoralCommission said that allowing Muluzi to stand would mean returning to the oldinstitution of life presidency.