By Esther Banda
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-After 25 years of poor performance on Malawi’s multiparty political landscape, one of the champions of democracy, the Alliance for Democracy (AFORD) has intensified its rebuilding drive to remain relevant with assurance that will remain intact to Tonse Alliance.
Founded in the early 90’s at the hype of political change to end a 30 year one party rule and adopt multiparty system of state governance, the party once secured 36 parliamentary seats in the May 1994 Presidential and Parliamentary Election but the numbers have been dwindling in subsequent elections to one parliamentarian, to date.
AFORD President Enock Chihana and the National Executive Committee have decisively resolved to rebuild and rebrand the party for it to be stronger than ever before in order to achieve good performance in future presidential, parliamentary and local government elections.
Speaking to Maravi Post, the party’s Director of Public Relations Chris Thaulo said the party is already geared up to revamp all party structures from the national executive down to the grassroots.
He has since urged Malawians to believe and put their trust in the party that fought against one party oppression in early 90’s under its founder and the then party President Late Chakufwa Chihana.
“The party was established in between 1991 and 1993. It contested on its own in 1994 general elections and it lost presidency vote but managed to secure 36 parliamentary seats. Since that time, electoral performance has been going down slowly hence the idea to revamp the party,” Thaulo explained.
He added, “so as we are revamping the party, we are arguing all Malawians to have trust in this party. AFORD is now geared to bring hope that we can all work together.”
He further added that, for now AFORD has already established a Women’s Wing dubbed AFORD Victory Queens.
Thaulo was however quick to dispel assertions that the rebuilding exercise of the party does not mean that they are pulling out of the nine party Tonse Alliance.
“We have established a Women’s Wing known as Victory Queens. This is for ladies and it’s specific agenda is to help people with disabilities, orphans and widows, to mention a few,” said Thaulo.
He adds, “Basically, we are not saying that we are rebuilding our party so that we can stand on our own or pull ourselves out of the Alliance. We are an individual party, Alliance for Democracy, we still need to build our own so that when another election comes.
“We should be able to stand not particularly on our own, we can stand on our own but we can also stand in an Alliance again.
“In fact, the Tonse Alliance has come up with what Malawians wanted but we are rebuilding just to make our party (AFORD) stronger than before,” added Thaulo.
