By Chisomo Phiri
The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has said it will not allow into its ranks former members of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and those who are fond of switching parties whenever there is a change of government, describing them as ‘unreliable opportunists’.
Speaking to local media on Thursday,DPP spokesperson Shadric Namalomba said the party has a policy that bars individuals who previously served in MCP administrations, as well as those known for frequently changing parties, from joining the DPP.
He said those who were part of the MCP government contributed to the suffering of Malawians, and therefore do not deserve to be part of the same government they once destroyed.
“These are the same people who destroyed our country and attacked our supporters. Now that elections are over, they want to join our party? We know they are greedy individuals. Our leader, Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika, has made it clear that he does not want greedy people in his government. He wants people who are ready to serve Malawians,” said Namalomba.
In response, MCP Deputy Publicity Secretary Ken Msonda said the DPP should focus on addressing the challenges Malawians are currently facing instead of blaming MCP for the country’s past problems.
“The campaign period is over, let us look forward.We cannot stop people from joining or leaving any political party. As we speak, there are some Members of Parliament(MPs) who won elections under different parties but are now joining MCP, while others are moving to DPP. That is just how politics works,” Msonda said.
Meanwhile,political analyst Wonderful Mkhutche has described DPP’s stance as a good idea, saying it could help reduce the problem of politicians who constantly switch parties whenever there is a change of government, even though such moves rarely bring any real transformation to the political landscape.
He has encouraged all political parties to establish internal regulations that prevent habitual party-switching.
The development comes as several politicians have recently defected from their parties to join the DPP.
