The Malawi Congress Party (MCP) National Executive Committee (NEC) has decided to keep former president Lazarus Chakwera as its leader, rejecting demands from some members who wanted him replaced.
Speaking after Wednesday’s meeting in Lilongwe, MCP publicity secretary Jessie Kabwila said the NEC met to review the party’s performance following its defeat in the September 16 General Election.
Kabwila explained that the committee agreed to hire an independent consultant to investigate reasons behind the loss to help the party prepare better for the 2030 elections.
“As a party, we recognize that we cannot evaluate ourselves effectively, so we have engaged an independent body to handle that task,” she said. “All party structures reaffirmed their support for Dr. Lazarus Chakwera’s leadership. He remains our president and is not stepping down.”
Kabwila further claimed that the elections involved “a lot of scheming,” citing the many court cases currently underway as evidence.
The NEC’s decision came just after a 14-day ultimatum from a group of dissatisfied members, led by former Kasungu West MP Alex Major, who had demanded that Chakwera call for an emergency convention and hand over power.
Major’s letter to the party claimed that 42 district chairpersons supported the call, but The Nation only verified one—Rappozo Phiri of Limbe district—while Zomba district chairperson Ziyad Machemba opposed the demand.
In his response, Major said the NEC lacked the constitutional authority to make resolutions about the presidency, arguing that doing so violates Section 31 of the MCP constitution.
“Our demands remain in place, and the 14-day period we gave the president expired on Wednesday. We’ll wait for the party’s formal response before deciding our next move,” Major said.
Political Science Association spokesperson Mavuto Bamusi observed that the post-election phase could trigger a “potential leadership crisis” within the MCP, while political analyst George Chaima suggested that internal power struggles may be driving the tension.
Chakwera, formerly head of the Malawi Assemblies of God, became MCP president in August 2013 after delegates rejected then-leader John Tembo’s bid for re-election.
He ran for president in 2014 and 2019, finishing second to Peter Mutharika on both occasions. However, in 2020, a Constitutional Court ruling nullified the 2019 election due to irregularities, paving the way for a fresh poll.
In the June 23, 2020 re-run, Chakwera, running alongside Saulos Chilima under the Tonse Alliance, defeated Mutharika.
Five years later, with the Tonse Alliance dissolved, Malawi Electoral Commission chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja declared Mutharika the winner of the September 16, 2025 General Election, securing 3,035,249 votes (56.8 percent) against Chakwera’s 1,765,170 votes—surpassing the 50-percent-plus-one threshold for victory.
