BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-The Malawi Congress Party (MCP) has been forced to postpone its primary elections in Mzimba Central constituency due to violence that disrupted the verification process of areas that would constitute the electoral college.
The decision comes after a High Court ruling on July 16, which mandated the party to conduct fresh primaries in the constituency.
According to MCP Director of Legal Affairs, Jivason Kadzipatike, the verification process was disrupted by a mob, and only 8 out of 50 areas were verified.
The process was being overseen by Deputy Director of Elections, Mathias Mgomezulu.
“The Party is, however, worried that the space in time between now and 30th July, 2025 when the Malawi Electoral Commission closes the nomination period is getting thinner,” Kadzipatike said in a letter to Minister of Trade Vitumbiko Mumba’s lawyer, Khumbo Soko.
The MCP is tussling with internal conflicts in the area, where Minister Mumba is facing off against Presidential advisor on rural development, Adamson Kuseri Mkandawire. Soko had written to Kadzipatike, accusing Mgomezulu of excluding Constituency Committee members from the process and utilizing a College that had already been discredited by the Court.
The party has vowed to pursue the verification exercise vigorously and will report to the High Court in Mzuzu if the volatile situation persists.
The postponement has raised concerns about the party’s ability to comply with the electoral commission’s nomination deadline, and the internal conflicts that seem to be derailing the process.
