Some political analysts have asked President Lazarus Chakwera to be Non-partisan when dealing with matters of national interest.
They were reacting to observations that Chakwera is restricting himself to mobilising voters to register in the Central Region, the perceived stronghold of his Malawi Congress Party (MCP), at the expense of other areas.
One of the analysts, University of Malawi Associate Professor of Political Science Boniface Dulani told The Nation on Monday that it was unfortunate that the President, using public resources, has chosen to restrict himself to his stronghold.He said the President needs to take off his partisan hat and focus on the whole country.
“He would be better advised to travel to all the districts where currently people are registering and make a case why they should register,” Dulani was quoted as saying.
Concuring with Dulani, Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences developmental scholar and governance analyst Andrew Kaponya expressed worry that Chakwera is concentrating the voters’ registration mobilisation campaign in the Central Region.
He said if the President is seen as only encouraging people in the Central Region to register, Malawians will believe that he has forgotten that he is the President of the country.
Said Kaponya: “The President must also encourage people from other regions to register and vote for leaders of their choice in the next year’s general elections. But when he goes there, he should remember to encourage Malawians, not necessarily as MCP president.”
During the first phase of the voter registration for the September 16 2025 General Elections from October 21 to November 3 2024, the President conducted whistle-stop tours mobilising people to register in Nkhotakota, Ntchisi, Salima and Dedza, all in the Central Region. He did not visit Karonga, Chitipa and Mzuzu in the Northern Region and neither did he do so in Balaka, Machinga, Chiradzulu, Neno, Phalombe and Mulanje in the Southern Region.
Half-way through the second phase ending this Sunday, the President has already been to Mchinji and Dowa in the Central Region, but is yet to do the same in Blantyre, Thyolo and Zomba in the Southern Region as well as Nkhata Bay, Likoma and Rumphi in the Northern Region. Other districts in the second phase are Kasungu and Ntcheu in the Central Region.
