Muluzi, Uladi talk coalition

President Bingu wa Mutharika Sunday left for Mainland China where, among other things, he is expected to open Malawi’s first embassy in Beijing on Wednesday, according to top government officials.

United Democratic Front (UDF) is reported to have engaged Uladi Mussa’s Malavi People’s Party (MPP) in coalition talks as part of a political strategy to win next year’s general elections, it has been established.

A member of UDF National Executive Committee (Nec) who opted for anonymity said on Saturday that the party’s national chairman Bakili Muluzi has invited Mussa to his BCA Residence to strategise on a possibility of forming an alliance between the two parties.

“UDF is preparing for next year’s polls from all angles. Muluzi is on Tuesday meeting Mussa at BCA to discuss modalities of including MPP in a UDF-led coalition.

“In fact, Muluzi has been talking to Mussa on this issue for quite some time. This is to ensure that UDF votes during next year’s polls should come from all corners of Malawi,” claimed the UDF Nec member.

When contacted Sunday, Mussa said there was no harm in forming an alliance with any party, which has similar ideologies with that of MPP.

While dismissing reports that he has an appointment with Muluzi tomorrow to discuss a possible working coalition between MPP and UDF, Mussa said his party was prepared to work with any political party that shows interest.

“I am not ruling out the possibility of forming an alliance with a party that has similar objectives with that of MPP, but no discussion has taken place between our party and others like UDF, MCP or DPP.

“The nation will definitely know about our plans and modalities on how we would be found in a coalition, things like coming up with a presidential candidate and his running mate. But it’s not true that I’m meeting Muluzi on Tuesday,” said Mussa.

UDF Deputy Secretary General Hophmally Makande Sunday said the party has an open policy, which accommodates political parties that share similar ideologies with it.

However, Makande said he did not have information on the alleged meeting between Muluzi and Mussa on the possibility of forming an alliance.

“You should appreciate that UDF has an open policy, and we can form alliances with political parties that are liberal like our party. We do not intend to kill any political party that is why we encourage party alliances.

“Party alliances are not discouraged in multiparty democracy and UDF is a party that successfully brought democracy into the country,” said Makande.

Asked whether Muluzi’s diary has an appointment with Mussa on Tuesday, personal assistant for the UDF national chairman Lucius Banda said that much as he was not aware of the meeting, it was healthy in democracy for leaders to meet.

Banda said such meetings were allowed in democracy and that it was good for leaders to meet and share both political and development ideas.

“I’m not aware of the meeting but it is a healthy situation if leaders are meeting. Imagine a situation where Bingu and Muluzi meet, do you think we are going to have all these political squabbles we are experiencing today?” quarried Banda while observing that meetings for political party leaders were good for the country’s democracy.

Meanwhile, a political analyst at Chancellor College Joseph Chunga has said that an alliance between UDF and MPP would have no impact on next year’s general elections.

Chunga observed that MPP has never contested in any election hence not a very strong political force in the country.

“A coalition between UDF and MCP could be a strong force, or if DPP is to partner with MCP that could be something else. But what we should be saying is that Uladi Mussa is going back to his original party, UDF and not that his party is forming an alliance or coalition with a big party like UDF.

“If Mussa is going back to UDF, may be it is because his party could not stand the political environment just as was the case with Hetherwick Ntaba when he formed his party after dishing MCP,” said Chunga.

But another political analyst Mustapha Hussein said coalitions are good if they are formed through a clear memorandum of understanding (MOU).

Hussein observed that coalitions compliment the strength of political parties in democracy.

“It’s a welcome development if they are strategising for next year’s elections because if one party is weak on one front, the other might be strong on another front. If they have a clear MOU, that means the coalition would be vibrant,” said Hussein.

Mussa left UDF together with President Bingu wa Mutharika to form the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in early 2005.

In October 2006, Mutharika dropped Mussa from cabinet as minister of Agriculture and Food Security before DPP National Governing Council (NGC) started sidelining him on allegations that he was enticing NGC members to help him form his party.

Then Mussa formed MPP in January last year but faced a challenge as government said he could not use the word “Malavi” because it was part of the protected name as it resembles “Malawi”.

After crying foul that government was only aimed at frustrating and victimising him, Mussa won a court case that allowed him to register MPP, promising tough time for government.

However, since then, MPP has had little impact on the country’s political landscape.