Politics: Malawi
Key Facts
•Who. Members of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), the former governing party; former regional chairperson Dennis Nanthumba signed for them.
•What. They petitioned party leader Lazarus Chakwera, Malawi’s president until 2025, to call an emergency convention.
•Claim. They say Chakwera’s term as party leader has expired and want the party’s term-limit rules settled.
•Deadline. They want a written reply in seven days and reserve the right to go to court.
Members of Malawi’s former governing party have formally challenged their leader, the country’s ex-president, and say they may take the dispute to court.
What the Petition Demands
A group of members of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), which governed under Lazarus Chakwera from 2020 until the September 2025 election, has formally asked him to call an emergency party convention. The petition is dated 5 November 2026 and was delivered to the party’s administrative secretary on a Tuesday, according to reports published on 10 November.
Dennis Nanthumba, a former MCP chairperson for the Southern Region, signed it on behalf of members and party veterans listed on an attached form. Howard Kachipanda, the party’s administrative secretary, said he received two sealed envelopes addressed to Chakwera but had not opened them.
Term Limits at the Centre
The petitioners ask Chakwera to start the emergency-convention procedure under Article 39 of the MCP constitution, which governs emergency conventions, and to put the matter before the party’s National Executive Committee, its leadership committee. They want the convention to settle questions under Article 31(3) and (4), the rules on presidential term limits.
Nanthumba says Chakwera’s term as party leader has expired. “We want the President to know that his term has expired,” he said.
Other Demands and the Court Threat
The group also asks the party to suspend a contested redrawing of its regional and district boundaries and to cancel newly announced candidature fees for internal committee elections. It wants a substantive written reply within seven days, failing which it reserves the right to seek relief from a competent court.
Why It Matters
The MCP is now an opposition party after Peter Mutharika, now Malawi’s president and leader of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), won the September 2025 presidential election. The Malawi Electoral Commission, the national election authority, declared him the winner on 24 September 2025, and Chakwera conceded defeat.
Leadership disputes did not start with this petition: another faction, led by Alex Major, a former member of parliament, has demanded an emergency convention since October 2025 and was still pressing for one in July 2026. The party’s National Executive Committee has resolved to keep Chakwera as leader.
What Is Not Known
Kachipanda said he could not confirm what the envelopes contain. Reports do not say how many members stand behind the petition.
What to Watch Next
The group’s seven-day window for a written reply would close around Tuesday 17 November 2026 if the petition was delivered on 10 November. The National Executive Committee, which has backed Chakwera before, is the body the petitioners want to rule on their request.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the MCP members asking for?
They want party leader Lazarus Chakwera to call an emergency convention under Article 39 of the party constitution. They also want a disputed boundary exercise suspended and new candidature fees cancelled.
Why do they say Chakwera’s term has ended?
Dennis Nanthumba says Chakwera’s term as party leader has expired. The petitioners want the convention to settle questions under Article 31(3) and (4) on presidential term limits.
What happens if the party does not reply?
The group wants a written reply within seven days and says it may seek relief from a court. The party’s administrative secretary said he had not opened the envelopes addressed to Chakwera.
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Sources: MCP petition of 5 November 2026 to party president Lazarus Chakwera; Malawi Electoral Commission, declaration of 24 September 2025; MCP constitution, Articles 31 and 39; Malawian press coverage of 10 November 2026.
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