* The presidential nomination papers did not pass the verification process MEC has since advised him to address the issues
By Duncan Mlanjira
Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson, Justice Annabel Mtalimanja, has asked September 16 presidential candidate, Nationalist Patriotic Party leader, Daniel Dube to re-submit his nomination papers after his running mate, Dunstan Mwaungulu submitted incomplete declaration form and absence of identification copies.
Advertisement
Thus the presidential nomination papers did not pass the verification process MEC has since advised him to address the issues and re-submit the documents.
The presentation of nomination papers started this morning with former State President Joyce Banda, submitted hers at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe where she unveiled her 2012-2014 administration’s Vice-President Khumbo Kachali as her running mate for the September 16 election.
She was followed by little-known Adil Chilungo, who successfully passed the presidential nomination paper inspection as he named Melvis Mwalukuwo as running mate.
Tomorrow is expected to be a great showdown at the BICC when another former president, Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), is expected to reveal his running mate following an announced by Alliance for Democracy (AFORD) president, Enoch Kamzingeni Chihana that he has explained it all that he has agreed to an electoral alliance with the DPP.
In a statement issued this afternoon, Chihana expressed his “disappointment at the total number of presidential candidates vying for the highest office in the land”, saying: “With 20 individuals seeking the presidency, it is clear that many are driven by personal ambition rather than a genuine desire to serve the nation.
Advertisement
“In a country struggling with pressing economic challenges, this dissonance of candidacies is a luxury we can ill afford. Therefore, I have decided not to join this calamity of greed individuals who are eager to satisfy their personal interests and not that of a common man.
“It is imperious that we prioritise unity, stability, socio-economic development and collective progress over individual interests,” says Chihana adding that Malawians have “suffered as a result of skyrocketing of prices, scarcity of fuel, lack of employment among the youth, deliberate creation of hunger due to exorbitant price of fertilizer, sheer arrogance, nepotism, mismanagement of resources through corruption and failure to adhere on austerity measures”.
