Malawi: Chimwendo Pins MCP Defeat On Voters Fed 'Chitedze' Stories

What the report says

Malawi Congress Party secretary general Richard Chimwendo Banda has attributed the party’s defeat in the September 2025 elections to what he described as voters being influenced by misinformation. In remarks to Zodiak Broadcasting Station, as reported by Nyasa Times and republished by AllAfrica, he said people paid too much attention to stories about hardship under former president Lazarus Chakwera’s government and too little to what he called the administration’s achievements.

Chimwendo Banda pointed to projects he said were completed during Chakwera’s time in office, including police housing, road upgrades and improvements in electricity supply. He argued that election-day thinking was shaped more by concerns over fuel shortages and narratives about food insecurity, including claims that people were eating wild fruits because of hunger. Those claims were presented in the article as his view of how public opinion turned against the MCP.

He also addressed speculation about Chakwera’s future role in the party, saying MCP could change its constitution if members wanted the former president to stand again in 2030. Separately, he rejected suggestions that he personally should be held responsible for the loss, saying election results are not the fault of one individual. The remarks matter because they highlight how the MCP is publicly explaining a significant electoral setback and signal possible internal debate about the party’s next leadership direction.