By Vincent Gunde
A Malawi Congress Party (MCP) diehard of Mvera in Dowa district Mr. Rodgers Kamphangala, has appealed to legal practitioners in both public and private institutions to look into critical issues affecting tripartite elections, 50 +I majority votes and Age limit for presidential candidates.
Kamphangala said under-looking these three issues will take the country to nowhere leading to Malawians interpreting the laws as judges fearing that if Malawi reaches this stage, their will be chaos in the country.
He observed that already, Malawians are hearing from media reports that general elections will be held on 16th September, 2025 not 21st May, 2024 as demanded by the Republican Constitution that elections must be held every after 5 years.
The MCP diehard said Malawians legitimately elected the President, Members of Parliament (MPs) and councilors in the May, 2019 elections while court sanctioned elections were held on 23rd June, 2020 meaning that President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera started in 2020 while one year was done by Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika.
He has argued that if indeed there will be no general elections on 21st May, 2024, this will mean that the country will not have MPs and councilors from May, 2024 unless Malawians go to the polls to elect their representatives.
Kamphangala said the issue of 50 +1 majority votes is not in black and white claiming that Malawi has from 1994 been using First Past the Post system of electing its leaders questioning the learned judges that this also applies to MPs and councilors in the forthcoming elections?
He has made it clear that it is almost impossible that the President of the country be elected on 50 +1 majority votes while MPs and councilors, on First Past the Post system, appeal to the electoral body to have a close look at this issue before elections.
On the age limit, Kamphangala has observed that 65 years for the president while judge’s period of retirement was extended to 70 -75 years questioning the learned judges that is this in order or that the age limit has been made to bar someone from standing?
“Let’s have laws blanketing the country not targeting an individual, putting the age limit of 65 is against an individual,” said Kamphangala.
He has appealed to all patriotic Malawians to stand up openly to say “NO to 2025 elections, NO to 50 +1 majority votes for the President alone and No age limit for the presidential candidates saying immediately the new government comes, the laws must be revisited, reviewed and amended.
He has finally advised Malawians not to listen to activists on the choice of the president saying Malawians themselves will choose who amongst those contesting will come to their knees and resolve their pain and sufferings.
