Members of Malawi’s MCP demand an emergency convention
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Nyasa Times
Members of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) have handed their administrative secretary a petition calling on Lazarus Chakwera to convene an emergency convention, amid tensions over term limits and election fees. Its author, Dennis Nanthumba, claims the party president’s term has expired, according to Nyasa Times.
A rebellion has broken out within the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), led by Lazarus Chakwera, who was defeated in the September 2025 presidential election. Members are petitioning for an emergency convention to settle disagreements over limits on presidential terms, the redrawing of internal constituencies and the candidacy fees for committee elections, according to Nyasa Times.
The petition, dated 5 November 2026, was handed on Tuesday to Howard Kachipanda, the party’s administrative secretary, who confirmed he had received two sealed envelopes addressed to Chakwera without knowing their contents. It is signed by Dennis Nanthumba, a former regional party chairman for the South, on behalf of members and veterans. He said: « We want the president to know that his term has expired. He has no power to dictate the party’s decisions. »
The signatories demand an emergency convention under article 39 of the MCP’s statutes, the suspension of the contested redrawing and the scrapping of the candidacy fees announced for the committee elections. They have given seven days for a written reply, failing which they threaten to take the matter to court. The dispute concerns paragraphs 3 and 4 of article 31 of the statutes, which relate to presidential terms.
