By Chancy Chingwarungwaru
A few days ago, when I wrote something on how the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has been performing in the 2014, 2019 and 2020 Presidential elections in Eastern region, where it was once a no go zone for the party marred with poor performance.
Critics were all over to discredit the political success of Bright Msaka SC in the region, stating that the good performance of DPP in Eastern region was not because of his leadership but the working alliance of DPP/UDF, the Mangochi-Liwonde Road and the choosing of Everton Chimulirenji as a running mate among others.
However, I have gone through both Presidential and Parliamentary election results for DPP in the Eastern region for 2014, 2019 and 2020 re-run and I can confidently say; these folks were wrong as their perception has always been wrong about Bright, the Wise one from the East.
Bright Msaka SC has gained the trust of the voters for DPP in this region as the DPP Vice President and as he joins the race for the DPP top seat, he can use the same magic to attain the DPP presidency at an elective conference slated for 2023. He is unstoppable.
Let’s have a look at parliamentary elections results for DPP in the region for 2014 and 2019 elections as illustrated in the picture below with SOLID facts for everyone to make his/her personal judgement.
In 2014 parliamentary Elections, the DPP performed well in Ntcheu and managed to get 5 members of parliament. The fact of the matter is that the eloping in of homeboy, Right. Honorable Saulos Chilima as a running mate to former President Arthur Peter Mutharika in the 2014 election did a perfect magic for DPP.
To prove that VP Saulos Chilima garnered a good number of votes for DPP in Ntcheu in 2014 elections, during the 2019 parliamentary elections, when Chilima stood as a Presidential candidate under his UTM in the Presidential poll, the DPP only managed to get 1 parliamentarian out of the 5 parliamentarians, it had and lost 4 parliamentarians in the Process. The DPP vote in Ntcheu was further split with two key figures contesting for the Presidency; Right. Honorable Saulos Klaus Chilima on UTM ticket as President and on the other hand, Hon. Everton Chimulirenji on DPP ticket as Running mate. It was a tough political test for Bright Msaka SC. Voters in Ntcheu decided to side with one of their own, Saulos Chilima.
In 2014 elections. There was no DPP/UDF working alliance on the ballot paper. Hon. Atupele Muluzi contested for UDF Presidency and managed to get the majority of parliamentarians in Mangochi and Machinga.
Out of 12 parliamentarians in Mangochi, DPP did not get even a single MP and the same applied to Machinga district, where all 7 parliamentary seats went to other parties and DPP got literally nothing, a zero if we are to be well-mannered.
Come 2019 elections, DPP and UDF contested separately on both Presidential and parliamentary election. This time around, DPP under the leadership of Bright Msaka SC did the magic in Mangochi and out of 12 parliamentary seats, DPP got 6 parliamentarians from 0 in the previous election (2014), others may say, it was because of the Mangochi-Liwonde Road but hell No, if that was the case, DPP could have won a lot of parliamentarians in Central region, where a lot of development projects were done and former President Arthur Peter Mutharika spent most of his time.
In Machinga where DPP had literally got a 0 on parliamentary elections in 2014, under the Leadership of Bright Msaka SC, DPP got a majority number of parliamentarians, it managed to get 4 parliamentarians out of 7. This is where Bright Msaka SC comes from and so Atupele Muluzi whose party UDF got 2 parliamentarians out on 7. It was a battle of two giants fighting for supremacy but Bright, the Wise one from the East emerged victorious,
As for Zomba, a home district of former President Joyce Banda whose party PP lost in 2014 election, out of 10 parliamentary seats in Zomba, DPP only got two parliamentarians in 2014 elections and the 8 parliamentary seats were won by the other parties.
Come 2019 elections under the leadership of Bright Msaka SC in the eastern region, DPP managed to get 5 parliamentarians, a plus of 3 parliamentarians from the previous election while the other parties shared the remaining 5 parliamentarians. This is a district where Joyce Banda the former President commands and so Atupele Muluzi but Bright Msaka’s leadership in the areas proved that he was the brightest of them all and outsmarted them with his political competence.
In Balaka, during the 2014 elections, DPP got 1 parliamentarian out of 4. In fact, the former first lady, Madame Gertrude Mutharika who comes from this very same area lost her parliamentary seat but under the leadership of Msaka SC, DPP got 2 parliamentarians, a plus of 1 in the 2019 parliamentary election and the Democratic Progressive party lost a parliamentary seat even in a constituency where the former first lady comes from to one Hon. Tony Ngalande
Ladies and gentlemen, Bright Msaka SC has done a commendable job for DPP in the Eastern region, we need to accept the fact that DPP in the Eastern region has grown stronger than it was in 2014.
As he joins the race for the DPP presidency and hopes one day he can contest for the country’s Presidency.
Undermine his political abilities at your own risk but if what has been presented here is anything to go about, Bright Msaka’s political future looks indeed bright as he takes another step towards his political excursion tomorrow.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are those of the author not necessarily of The Maravi Post or Editor
