Malawi’s political landscape is heating up as the country prepares for the 2025 tripartite elections. While the Malawi Electoral Commission is ready, political parties are actively positioning themselves to select their representatives for the national polls.
The ruling Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) are scheduled to hold their respective National Executive Committee elective conventions next month (August). Following these conventions, political parties will engage in primary elections to choose candidates to represent them in the Parliamentary elections.
Traditionally, MCP’s primary elections have used a simple queue-based voting system, where competing candidates’ supporters would line up behind their preferred candidate, and the votes were counted based on the number of people in each queue. While this method was less costly and straightforward, it often led to chaotic scenes, with supporters of different candidates clashing in violent incidents.
To address this issue, the MCP has announced that it will adopt a secret ballot system for its primary elections going forward. MCP Publicity Secretary, Peter Ezekiel Ching’oma, confirmed this change, stating that the party aims to ensure peaceful primary elections through the secret ballot method.
Phillimon Harrison Ngozo, the MCP District Secretary for Dedza District, corroborated Ching’oma’s statement, explaining that the secret ballot system is an intervention to secure peaceful primary elections.
The Executive Director of the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR), Michael Kaiyatsa, has commended this move, urging other political parties to emulate the MCP’s approach. Elections expert, George Phiri, also praised the decision and called for cooperation from various leadership positions to ensure the successful implementation of the secret ballot primary elections.
This shift in MCP’s primary election process reflects the party’s commitment to promoting transparency and maintaining a peaceful political environment as the country gears up for the 2025 tripartite elections.
