The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and its partner, the Alliance for Democracy (AFORD), say their presidential candidate, Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika, will not travel widely across Malawi during the campaign. Instead, a team of senior party members will lead rallies and meetings, while Mutharika focuses on “other critical matters” at his residence, Page House.
In a joint statement signed by DPP publicity secretary Shadric Namalomba and AFORD publicity secretary Annie Amatullah Maluwa, the alliance praised what it called “massive support” during the manifesto launch at Njamba. They said the crowd showed that Malawians are “ready to vote for this grand alliance into power” and that the team will “address the pressing issues facing the nation under the current Malawi Congress Party administration.”
The announcement comes as President Lazarus Chakwera’s Malawi Congress Party continues to draw huge crowds across the country, tightening its hold on the central and northern regions while pushing into the south. While the alliance says Mutharika’s reduced travel is a sign of confidence in his team, political analysts say it could give the impression that the opposition leader is stepping back at a key moment in the race.
