Dear Malawi Electoral Commission,
Two days ago, Bishop Martin Mtumbuka stood before the President and, with bold sincerity, asked him to ensure that your house—yes, yours—is in order. He called for transparency. For openness. For the kind of electoral process that leaves no room for suspicion, spin, or scandal. And we echo his call, not just as a political party but as believers in democracy itself.
The Malawi Congress Party is ready to win the September election—and we say this with confidence, not arrogance. But we want our victory to be clean. Undeniable. We want it to be a win no one can poke holes in, no matter how hard they try. Because already, whispers are rising from the other side: that the election will be rigged, that the field isn’t level, that the results will be cooked. These aren’t just complaints—they are seeds, sown early, to poison the public’s trust when the results don’t go their way.
So here’s what must happen: let the process be open. If the opposition wants an audit, let there be an audit. In fact, let every political party have full access to audit every stage. No shadows. No locked doors. No “technicalities.” Transparency must be more than a promise—it must be a performance, played out live for every citizen to see. Because nothing silences conspiracy like the cold, hard truth made public.
Let’s also address the irony: every major political party has its representatives on your commission. MCP. DPP. Everyone’s in the room. And yet, somehow, claims of secrecy persist. Where is the secrecy hiding when your commissioners are nodding in approval? The truth is, some politicians can see the writing on the wall—they’re losing—and now they want to pre-write the excuse: “It was MEC’s fault.”
Let’s not fall for that playbook. Let the process be auditable, visible, even broadcastable. We don’t want sore losers accusing you, MEC, of being the villain in their losing story. And as for the opposition: if you field a candidate who looks more like a statue from the past than a vision of the future, don’t expect the people to be fooled. When voters reject you, don’t reach for the referee. As the saying goes, a bad carpenter blames his tools—and in this case, you, MEC, are the tool they’re sharpening their complaints on.
So we say this with respect, but also with urgency: be above reproach. Be loud in your fairness. Be transparent to the point of discomfort. And most of all, don’t let anyone use you as the scapegoat for their political collapse.
The stakes are too high. And the people deserve better than post-election drama dressed up as principle.
Issued at MCP Headquarters in Lilongwe on 05/05/2025
