We now know, at last, which presidential aspirant has goofed mildly, who has goofed honourably and who has goofed beyond redemption in their choice of a running-mate. In my opinion, arrogant as some may deem it, none of the presidential candidates has it right.
In fact, some of the presidential candidates don’t even deserve to run for a parliamentary seat, let alone drool for the presidency. So, why should they pick running-mates in the first place? But the vanity of a politician knows no limits, so it would be imprudent to hope they would assess their shortcomings and be contented with what they can afford.
Nevertheless, a running-mate stands between guaranteeing the keys to the State House and a rush to the courts to dispute polls’ results. So, who pulled off a perfect choice?
Bingu wa Mutharika and Joyce Banda
When it became known President Mutharika had fallen for — forgive the expression — Joyce Banda, his Foreign Affairs Minister, and not the other Banda in Henry Chimunthu as it was widely speculated, the question people asked was: Why? Why, indeed!
Joyce Banda is not a bad candidate — far from it. Give me Joyce Banda any day and some other running-mate like, say, Kamlepo Kalua and Amunandife Nkumba, I’ll sing ‘Amazing Grace’ at its loudest pitch.
But, I’m not sure what Banda’s appointment was intended to do. Target the female vote (gender activists take note)? But, as US presidential candidate John McCain found out last year when he picked Sarah Palin for his running-mate, picking a woman if you want to target female vote could be an ill-conceived idea.
Or was Banda’s appointment affirmative action at its best? Or did President Mutharika scheme to annoy others who had been pushing and shoving for the post (in which case, he should brace himself for tough times ahead)? Or perhaps, he wanted to target (and hoping he would split) the Yao vote?
Whatever his motive was, Mutharika made a monumental blunder, perhaps only bettered by Loveness Gondwe and equalled by Stanley Masauli.
Verdict: I wish I could say it was a hit, but...
John Tembo and Brown Mpinganjira
An impossible combination rather than a perfect political marriage made in heaven. Headstrong characters in the 2004, each of whom assumed they could win the elections alone (when everybody else knew they wouldn’t), their egos, especially Mpinganjira’s, seem to have taken so much battering that they are willing to experiment with what should have been in 2004.
Mpinganjira, as president of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), a motley crew of disaffected United Democratic Front (UDF) members, is one thing; BJ as an itinerant politician, who failed to strike it on his own and crawled back to the UDF, only to jump ship — again — years later is another.
The former was, forgive the cliché, a force to reckon with; the latter is a political gamble. BJ may still command the respect in the so-called Lomwe belt (which, I suspect, is the reason Tembo roped him in) but, with Mutharika coming into the mix, there has been a political shift in the area which one would ignore at his peril. Hence, his unquestionable organisational skills aside, Mpinganjira’s influence in the area is far from being guaranteed.
My verdict: A qualified, rather than, absolute hit.
Loveness Gondwe and Beatrice Mwale
Apart from building her reputation as the daughter-in-law of Aford legend Chakufwa Chihana; as first deputy speaker of the National Assembly, albeit briefly; and as the lone Aford MP for the better part of this term, Loveness Gondwe remains a political novice, still learning to crawl, rather than to run.
The likes of Israel’s Golda Meir, Britain’s Margaret Thatcher, India’s Indira Ghandi, Germany’s Angela Merkel, Philippine’s Gloria Arroyo and Liberia’s Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf provide a lot of inspiration to aspiring female presidents but Gondwe is living way ahead of her time. Those women were already established at the time of ascending to power — everything Gondwe is not.
Now, for someone very much still learning the tricks of trade to pick another novice — never mind she was one of Aford’s vice-presidents — as a running-mate is perfecting a losing formula.
Yes, women supposedly constitute 52 percent of Malawi’s population and one would expect them to be a little bit sympathetic to a fellow woman. It is one thing to be in majority but it is absurdly farcical to imagine an all-female cast will actually garner a winning vote — unless one is using a faulty political calculator.
Verdict: Miss
Bakili Muluzi and Clement Stambuli
Was Stambuli the ‘choice’? Or was he the ‘compromise choice’?
The UDF was caught up in the business of pretending to achieve a ‘national balance’ where a president cannot pick his running mate from his region of origin — one way in which regionalism is promoted officially. But pretence aside, we all know most of the UDF’s heavyweights are from the Southern Region and we are talking about people who can bring a vote or two.
Had Muluzi been looking for a strong candidate, rather than a ‘non-Southerner’, he would have partnered with a better and stronger candidate.
Credit, however, should go to Stambuli for standing out above the rest but how much of an influence does he wield beyond the borders of Nkhotakota?
Verdict: This is neither a hit nor a miss; ‘may try’ seems more like it
Dindi Gowa Nyasulu and Chinkhokwe Banda
Apart from saying once upon a time Aford was a party to contend with, honestly, I wish there was something else good to say about this pairing. Would Dindi Gowa Nyasulu win the election alone? No. Has Chinkhokwe Banda added anything to Nyasulu’s chances? No. I rest my case.
Verdict: Total miss
James Nyondo and Vivian Thunyani
‘James Who?’ was the question rather than the comment when his name was a mentioned as a presidential candidate. Nyondo is young, he seems to have the right ideas, is well educated BUT he has rushed himself into the big thing.
Unless he performs a miracle within the next three months, Kamlepo Kalua would have done better. Hence, his choice of a running-mate, another nonentity, is inconsequential.
Verdict: Miss, miss and miss
Stanley Masauli and Sophie Kuthyola
After the court battles to stop Gwanda Chakuamba from dissolving the Republican Party and a low-key convention, Masauli has avoided the limelight as cockroaches disdain light.
And Sophie Kuthyola, his running-mate? Another enigma, another unknown.
Verdict: Terrible miss
Kamuzu Chibambo and Samuel Mnenula
Chibambo has never hidden his presidential aspirations but if he thinks he’s going to achieve his dream by picking Mnenula, largely unknown, then he’s missed the bus by a mile.
Verdict: Absolute miss
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