The Tribune (Blantyre)
Elizabeth Kananji
30 December 2008
If President Bingu wa Mutharika’s presidential aide Nicholas Dausi will not contest as an independent candidate in Mwanza Central Constituency, his diehard supporters will vote for an opposition United Democratic Front candidate.
The disgruntled Dausi supporters in separate interviews with the Tribune threatened to vote for a UDF candidate in next year’s parliamentary elections because the party’s National Governing Council (NGC) has not addressed their grievances.
Dausi who is also presidential advisor on unity lost to Minister of Labour Davis Katsonga during the party’s controversial primary elections in the constituency.
When the Tribune crew visited Mwanza Central constituency last week, some of the constituents argued that the elections which were presided over by Information Minister Patricia Kaliati and Finance Deputy Minister Charles Mchacha were not free and fair claiming that only Katsonga’s people were allowed into Mwanza Secondary School Hall to vote.
One of the constituents Ernest Mwase who was supposed to vote for Dausi but was not called into the hall to participate said the party should consider re-running the primary elections or he together with others will vote for a UDF candidate.
“We are not satisfied with the way the elections were conducted. I am not saying this because our favorite candidate lost but we would have been satisfied with any outcome if all the area committees had participated in the voting process,” he said.
Kaliati proceed with the elections with only six area committees out of 47, a development which saw Dausi refusing to be blind folded while his supporters also refused to line up behind him.
Another ardent supporter for Dausi said the party should not depend on the results of the primary elections because they did not participate.
“How can they declare a winner when the other contestant did not participate? We want a re-run of the primaries in our constituency or we will vote for a UDF candidate,” he said.
In an interview recently, Dausi said the primaries in the constituency did not follow the ‘rules and regulations’ of the DPP.
“The elections had a lot of ‘errors’ because the rules and regulations of the party were not followed by the returning officers,” said Dausi.
He however could not be drawn to comment on his supporters outbursts saying he is waiting for the party’s intervention on the outcome of the primary elections.
“I lodged a complaint to the party’s secretariat and I was told that a commission of enquiry will be put in place to look into the issue and I am waiting for that,” he said
Asked if he will contest for the parliamentary seat as an independent candidate in the 2009 parliamentary polls, Dausi said “I think it’s too early for me to say anything now.”
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Those claiming to vote for a UDF candidate simply show that they were not bona vide DPP supporters but rather fortune seekers. They should also understand that in any primary election there is one winner. They should also be reminded that their Dausi joined DPP later when the party was already in the constituency with their MP Hon DCK. Let them go to which ever party but reminded that DCK is winning in 2009 and they should not regret. By the way the supporters interviewed are MCP/UDF supporters we are not surprised with their outburst. Nice exodus brothers