MCP, UTM Creating Unconducive Environment For Fresh Elections

The Chairperson                                                                                                      Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC)
Private Bag 113
Blantyre

CC: All NECOF Stakeholders

4th May, 2020

MCP AND UTM ARE CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT TO MAKE THE FRESH ELECTIONS IMPOSSIBLE

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) wishes to strongly condemn the recent behaviour of the opposition political parties, mainly the MCP and UTM who are deliberately creating an environment that could make the fresh election impossible.

These two opposition parties went to Court to have the May 2019 election results nullified, and the Constitutional Court granted them their wish. Strangely, MCP and UTM have embarked on a behavioural path that will see these two strange bedfellows cry to the Courts again when President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika wins the fresh election again.

We are keen to furnish MEC with this information because stakeholders need to understand the drivers and incentives behind the undemocratic behaviour of the opposition. MEC needs to appreciate an in-depth political economy analysis of the context within which MCP and UTM are unleashing their uncivil political conduct.

First, it is the same MCP and UTM who always stand tall to claim that the elections cannot be stolen. We now wish to register our concern why and how the opposition so called IT experts led by Daudi Sulemani have logged into the MEC and NRB systems. Sulemani displayed data and information purportedly extracted from the NRB databases in his bid to prove the case of registration of minors or the alleged manipulation of National IDs.

While we will leave the IT issues to experts within MEC and NRB to resolve, our serious concern is with the behaviour and action of the opposition to use unauthorized methods to hack into the MEC and NRB system.

This is a criminal IT enterprise which deserves serious condemnation, and it must stop immediately. As the DPP, we call upon MEC and NRB to assure the nation how safe are the election databases from these opposition hackers and IT criminals.

Second, this opposition duet of MCP and UTM has embarked on a failed plot to hoodwink Malawians on the issue of political violence. We wish to remind MEC never to forget the fact that MCP and UTM are the master-minders of political violence. The two parties are the architects of terror and anarchy which has engulfed Malawi since June 2019.

MEC and all electoral stakeholders need to be reminded that the axis of evil has taken a solid grip on our nation beginning from the time MCP and UTM hijacked the HRDC platform, and turned the civil society body into a launch-pad for political pandemonium.

 MEC will remember that it is the same axis of evil that took chains, locks and panga knives and sealed the MEC offices in a desperate coup attempt on a constitutional body. Through violence, they have threatened MEC officers and put the lives of MEC Commissioners and their families in grave danger.

Third, as the DPP, we hereby provide MEC with glaring evidence of the fresh wave of MCP and UTM violence that is tactfully tailored to undermine the prospects for Malawi to hold the fresh election. The opposition is working hard to make the elections fail. For example, in the 7 constituencies under Lilongwe Rural West, there is a deliberate crusade of terror and premeditated violence that is actively being unleashed on DPP monitors, supporters and DPP leaders. The UDF has not been spared from these macabre attacks.

In Lilongwe Rural west, DPP monitors have been chased away from the voter registration centers. They are threatened; their lives and those of their families are in constant danger. Places like Kasiya, Kabudula, Nsaru, Ukwe, Msanama, and Majiga have been declared no-go zones for DPP.

These places are adjacent to Rev. Lazarus Chakwera’s home, and we wonder why the pastor-turned politician can allow his MCP thugs to beat up fellow village-mates simply because they love DPP and they have unshakable support for President Mutharika.

These places are violence hotspots where the MCP thugs are also wielding panga knives and machetes, and stones and other weapons for inflicting misery on fellow villagers.

We wish to bring to the attention of MEC that in Lilongwe South West constituency, the DPP Director of Youth (for Lilongwe-Malingunde), Mr. Blessings Banda has suffered untold political violence. Mr. Banda has lost 10 houses which have been demolished by MCP hooligans.

The thugs have also stolen K350,000.00 from his butchery business. As if this is not enough, the DPP Youth Director has lost 70 bags of maize which have been picked by the MCP thieves. Sadly, the wife of Mr. Banda is currently battling for her dear life as she suffered deep cuts when the MCP bandits hacked her with panga knives. She is receiving treatment at M’bwatalika Health Center.

Similarly, yet disturbingly, another sad incident has happened at Chiotha School where our DPP monitor was badly beaten by a group of MCP supporters who came from Nsaru Trading Center and they used a half-toner pick up.

MEC also needs to be informed that the MCP and UTM violence is targeted at ensuring that the fresh elections fail, as we must also report that the two opposition parties are also colluding with key electoral stakeholders in the Central Region to advance political disorder. Specifically, we observe and report the behaviour of some clergy under the Nkhoma Synod of the CCAP who are deliberately preaching the message of political hatred.

At a funeral service recently held at Matapila Turn-Off in Lilongwe Mpenu constituency, Reverend Chapota openly incited violence and mobilised the mourners to “vote for fellow Chewa” as President. No wonder, Rev. Chapota was openly booed and publicly condemned by the mourners. MEC needs to discipline such behaviour as it runs contrary to the Electoral Code of Conduct for such MEC accredited entities like the Nkhoma Synod.

As the DPP, we also wish to report to MEC, but also condemn recent acts in Lilongwe Rural where MCP and UTM officers and monitors are forcing MEC staff to configure the Voter Registration system where the computer is re-programmed to multiply the actual number of registered persons to produce a result that is higher than the actual registered figures. This is a serious attempt to rig the vote even before the day of polling.

While we have evidence that MCP and UTM are doing this malpractice in many centers, we wish to give an example of Mwatibu School in Lilongwe Mpenu constituency where the registration computers have been reprogrammed to multiply and reproduce the registered figures by 2 such that 300 registered voters will be manipulated to appear as 600.

 We call upon MEC to immediately discipline MCP and UTM and order a stop to this electoral fraud.

Lastly, in Dowa District, our DPP Constituency Chairman for Dowa Central Constituency is currently in hiding as he has suffered broken ribs from the incessant violence and beatings at the hands of MCP and UTM alliance hitmen.

We also wish to indicate that Dowa is one of the districts where MCP and UTM have without any single iota of shame embarked on the process of recruiting children and mobilising the underage to register for national IDs with the NRB, and later proceed to register with MEC for the voter registration.

 This behaviour by MCP and UTM is not only hypocritical as they have falsely accused DPP of the same, as it is also an act of deliberate manipulation of the voters roll, apparently the same allegation they took to the Constitutional Court to accuse MEC.

As the DPP, we strongly condemn such actions and we call upon MEC to order MCP and UTM to stop this undemocratic behaviour immediately.

In conclusion, the DPP wishes to alert MEC to the fact that it is now so vivid and apparent that MCP and UTM are yet again on the path to destabilise the holding of a free and fair election. The opposition are cultivating fertile ground to make it difficult to hold the election.

They are doing this through the unleashing of violence, anarchy and political disorder. MCP and UTM are also using methods of electoral IT systems hacking and database manipulation.

In view of the foregoing incidents as reported, among many others, the DPP observes with concern that the Central Region has become unsafe since MCP and UTM have declared the region as a no-go zone for the DPP, for its members, officers and monitors.

We therefore do not see how a free and fair election can be held under these circumstances in the region, and this is a deliberate machination by the said opposition parties.

Lastly, we wish to inform MEC and all electoral stakeholders that MCP and UTM are evidently planning to go again to petition the Court when the DPP wins this election again.

Signed:

Grezelder Jeffrey

Secretary General

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)