By Leo Mkhuwala
BLANTYRRE-(MaraviPost)-President of the leading opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP), Lazarus Chakwera has announced his resignation from his position as Leader of Opposition Parties in Parliament and also as Member of Parliament for Lilongwe North West Constituency.
Chakwera announced this during a Press Briefing in Blantyre on Sunday.
The MCP Presidential Aspirant said his move is in abiding to the Republican Constitution as prescribed in Article 8, Section 80, sub section 8E which says anybody holding a public office but is aspiring for a political position must first resign.
Below is the full Chakwera’s statement;
CHAKWERA’S STATEMENT ON HIS RESIGNATION AS MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT
Members of the Press,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
Fellow Malawians,
Today, I come before you with a special announcement, but before I make it, allow me to provide some context. Five score and seven days from now, we will all stand together in the valley of decision on Election Day to determine our nation’s destiny.
As you will see during this week’s submissions of nomination papers to the Malawi Electoral Commission, there are several presidential candidates offering their services to you, but between them you will find two different visions for the future of your lives and of Malawi.
On the one hand are all those candidates who are or have already been in power for the past 5 to 25 years and whose failure to govern has sunk our country deeper into corruption, poverty, and division. If you believe that the problems you have faced for the past 5 years should be left in the hands of those who created them, then you should vote for them…again.
I, on the other hand, represent a new vision for the future of Malawi. Neither I nor my running mate has ever been a co-pilot of Malawi as President or Vice-President, and so we represent a new page and a new vision.
Our vision is that the time has come TO BUILD A NEW MALAWI.
Our vision is that this new Malawi must be built by a new breed of Malawians.
Our vision is that this new breed of Malawians must be led by a completely new President and Vice-President.
Our vision is that this new President and Vice-President must not be people who have already failed to lead Malawi for the past five years.
Now, to demonstrate that I am uniquely qualified to be a new kind of President, I have committed myself and my in-coming government to a comprehensive agenda called ChakweraHi5 by which we will BuildANewMalawi. The five priorities of this agenda are as follows:
#ServantLeadership: by this I will change presidential powers and privileges so that the presidency is used for service, not rulership.
#UnitingMalawi: by this I will end the use of tribes, religions, and party colors as a basis for business, employment, or academic opportunities.
#ProsperingTogether: by this I will create 4 million jobs and increase incomes by cutting taxes, bringing investors, building factories, developing infrastructure, and building human capital.
#EndingCorruption: by this I will audit every branch of government, publicize all government contracts, make the ACB independent, set up special anti-corruption courts, and separate party and state functions.
#RuleofLaw: by this I will require everyone in my government to abide by the law, and if charged with a violation of the law, to take a leave from their position until their name is cleared in a court of law.
This commitment to the Rule of Law now brings me to today’s special announcement.
In the New Malawi that I will lead from this May, I as your President will always be the first person to operate under the Rule of Law.
And so today, I wish to announce that I have officially and formally resigned my position as Member of Parliament for Lilongwe North West constituency and my position as Leader of Opposition in Parliament.
Fellow Malawians, the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi requires that I resign from these positions in order to accept your nomination of me as your preferred candidate for President.
This is pursuant to Article Eight, Section 80, Subsection 7(e), which states: “No person shall be eligible for nomination as a candidate for election as President or First Vice-President…if that person is a holder of a public office or a member of Parliament unless that person first resigns.”
In submitting myself to the Rule of Law by resigning my parliamentary seat and my position as Leader of Opposition, I give you my assurance that A New Malawi under my servant leadership has already began.
I now call upon all those aspiring candidates who currently hold public office to follow my example to show that they are ready to follow me into the New Malawi of which I will soon be President.
Thank you and God bless you.
Lazarus Chakwera
Issued in Blantyre, February 3, 2019.
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Phumatu obwana kapena chilipo munanyambita.