Nankhumwa’s political party, PDP, will hold its conference in September this year – Malawi Nyasa Times

The People’s Development Party (PDP) said it is ready to hold its first congress on September 13-14, 2024.

The party said at least 1,800 delegates would attend the electoral conference in Blantyre.

The party’s acting national publicity secretary, Rhodes Msonkho, told local media that delegates will come from all over the country, adding that the party is carrying out various activities in preparation for the congress.

“The various subcommittees have been formed and they are currently carrying out their assigned tasks on the ground and the preparations are progressing well,” he said.

Commenting on the matter, Dr Crispin Mpande, a senior history lecturer at Mzuzu University, told Nyasa Times that it was a welcome development as it was a trend in the country as it neared national elections.

“It is normal procedure for any political party to hold a congress to regularise positions because currently positions in the PDP are temporary,” Dr Mpande said.

Dr Mphande, however, expressed concern over the trend of political parties in Malawi being heavily dependent on their founders.

“You will notice that the DPP is synonymous with the Mutharika family; the UDP is synonymous with the Muluzi family; the SLPP is synonymous with the Joyce Banda family; the PDP is synonymous with the Nankumwa family. This is our biggest worry right now. When the founders exit politics, parties die. We need parties that are no longer dependent on the founders, we need parties that are owned by the people and have control throughout the country,” Dr Mpande commented.

When asked what the PDP could do to escape founder dependency syndrome, Dr Mphande made two points.

“Firstly, there has to be a balance of posts between the regions. Secondly, promote the ideas of the party, not individuals. They should not just promote names. Instead, they should promote those who have the ability to mobilise the people, who can go deep into the ideology of the party,” Dr Mpande commented.

The PDP was founded earlier this year by Kondwani Nankhumwa, the Democratic Progressive Party’s vice chairman for the southern region.

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