Until Malawi’s
May 20 tripartite elections, President Joyce Banda’s reputation was only deeply
tarnished by the cash-gate scandal. But as it became clear that she had completely
been rejected at the polls, the nastiest of her political manipulations began
to appear.
As
soon as results started trickling in showing that she was losing, Banda set
rolling the current election-gate scam
by complaining bitterly about electoral irregularities. She then rushed to
issue a shocking presidential decree last Saturday which was supposed to
nullify the polls so that new elections could take place within 90 days. It has
taken the courts to enlighten her that she does not hold such powers. As if her
self-interested intentions were not obvious, Malawians and the international
community were to judge her decision against the fact that she was not going to
stand in the postulated elections.
What
is surprising is that several observers, both local and international, have
clearly corroborated that despite some hiccups, Malawi’s elections were free,
fair and credible. And yet, the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) claims it has
received numerous complaints and discovered serious irregularities which
justify a recount. As the Council for Non-Governmental Organisation (CONGOMA)
has reasoned, MEC should have convincingly outlined the gravity of electoral
irregularities to substantiate a recount.
It is
not difficult to see that MEC is trying to engineer the so-called irregularities
and deliberately inflame the current electoral turmoil in order to strengthen
the pretext for overturning the poll results. Following Banda’s cues, MEC has
been shifting its claims over irregularities from the initial 19 polling
centres to 42 and now 58. Nullifying the results will, thus, fulfil Banda’s
original wish.
There
is no denying that the suspicious electoral developments are being instigated by
president Banda and have led to MEC’s stubborn refusal to respond to demands
from local and international observers that official presidential results be
released. MEC is also failing to answer valid questions about the security of
ballot papers some of which have been recklessly transported after being duly
counted and verified by stakeholders at polling centres.
In the
meantime, Joyce Banda has embarked on a desperate struggle to ‘cling to power’ in
whatever guise by mobilising the support of disgruntled parties, Malawi
Congress Party (MCP) and United Democratic Front (UDF). She is relying on the
patronage of some MEC officials, a legion of sympathisers of her People’s Party
(PP) within the media and civil society and a few nervous and unprincipled donors.
It is a situation which has created horrifying electoral chaos with MEC failing
to announce results as the electoral body is being intimidated to change the outcome
whilst a logjam of court injunctions between the warring parties is clogging
the electoral process.
Shockingly,
some people are failing to see the present electoral pandemonium through the
prism of President Banda’s failure to acknowledge defeat and her attempt to use
MCP and UDF against what can be considered as the will of the majority of the sovereign
people of Malawi. Unofficial results have consistently shown opposition Democratic
Progressive Party (DPP) leader, Peter Mutharika as the winner with 1, 789 364
followed by MCP’s Lazarus Chakwera 1,
387 500 and Banda’s 1, 042 686 whereas UDF’s Atupele Muluzi garnered a dismal
665 816.
Zodiak
Broadcasting Station (ZBS) is therefore right to stand by its broadcasts of unofficial
results which have shown Mutharika leading and correspond to the Malawi
Electoral Support Network (MESN) tally including MEC’s own tabulation. These very
results are at least in tandem with Aforbarometer’s
prediction which the pro-Joyce Banda media bashed unashamedly.
Banda
is pegging on one of the following outcomes: either that Mutharika’s 400 000+
votes can be overturned in favour of Chakwera or that anomalies will be ‘doctored’
enough to warrant the nullification of the entire election results. If a re-run
is to be held, would it surprise anyone if she was to form a coalition with MCP
and or UDF?
Reliable
sources indicate how Banda has managed to enlist MCP’s Chakwera whose quest to
assume power continues to blind him from the rational realisation that he holds
the key to ending the present predicament by conceding defeat and letting
Malawi move forward. Chakwera, a former pastor who has just been baptised in
the muddy waters of the country’s school of dirty-politics wants to get into
power regardless because power corrupts even those who preach the word of God.
In
fact, what is becoming a coup by the ‘PP-MCP-UDF alliance’ is in the interest
of notorious bedfellows: ex-president Bakili Muluzi and John Tembo. Not
surprising that the news that MEC will announce election results after 30 days
has pleased their followers even as Malawians wait anxiously.
To
understand Malawi’s present electoral mess, one needs to go back to the pre-election
‘grand narrative’ that President Banda was likely to win the polls which the
unquestioning mainstream media parroted. Thanks to the poll estimates of the
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and Research Tech Consultants, Banda was
supposed to win this election even with a handful of MPs and after being humiliated
in her own backyard.
The fact
though is Banda has been booed out of power even though her campaign was the
most resourced and she went round the country throwing hand-outs to bribe the
electorate. Her campaign strategy was disjointed and message without any real
substance after her defiant devaluation of the Kwacha left the majority of the
people struggling to make ends meet.
Balancing
her ticket with Sosten Gwengwe on the misguided fear of Atupele Muluzi’s
youthful appeal made things worse because Gwengwe himself lacked political
clout. Gwengwe has been trounced in his own constituency and as the unofficial
results stand, Joyce Banda and Atupele Muluzi were the only presidential
candidates whose chances were excessively exaggerated.
However,
Banda’s devious plan which she is implementing through MEC is tantamount to
instigating post-electoral violence like that of Kenya in 2008. Her impulsive
and undemocratic behaviour can only be equated to that of Ivory Coast’s former
leader, Laurent Gbagbo who refused to hand-over power after opposition Alassane
Ouattara won the 2010 presidential polls. Banda might end up like Gbagbo who is
currently at the International Criminal Court (ICC) answering to atrocities
committed in the post-election era.
Her
conduct is also comparable to Nigeria’s Ibrahim Babangida who cancelled the
results of the 1993 presidential elections which could have seen Moshood Abiola
become president. Like Babangida, Banda is not considering the repercussions of
her actions which she is forcefully carrying through MEC because what matters
to her is political power and personal interests.
Unfortunately,
civil society organisations such as the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) including
churches have decided not to condemn Banda’s actions even as it is becoming evident
that the emerging ‘PP-MCP-UDF alliance’ is trying to circumvent the choice of
the people. Banda is being allowed to create a constitutional crisis and her
backers are willing to see the country descend into anarchy.
My
view is that, although some people might say they ‘HATE DPP’ because of its bad
record in power, there is no party: UDF, MCP and PP that can claim to be
without a blemish. The atrocities committed by each of these parties and the stinking
corruption rackets they ran can only be differentiated by time. So, for some
media pundits, civil society activists and politicians to argue that they
cannot allow one particular party to take power even when people have voted for
it, is utterly silly and myopic as far as democratic principles are concerned.
For
the record, Joyce Banda has been immensely humiliated because she chose to be like
most African leaders who are self-interested under-achievers who practise politics
of the stomach and pocket and not for the good of the nation. Consequently, MEC
is being misled by her selfish interests and unfounded fears. It is now time
that those who love this country and the international community raise their
voice of reason and stop Banda from trying to unconstitutionally ‘take power’
with the other political parties.
Let Joyce
Banda accept that she squandered the opportunity to demonstrate good leadership
in the past two years. She needs to be dragged out of power before she tears the
country apart. But for what she has already done, she goes down in history haunted
and hounded for plunging Malawi into chaos and tarnishing the country’s image
in the world.
