{UAH} BANDA NEITHER MUGABE OR GBGABO

Malawi’s Banda neither a Mugabe or Gbgabo, but emerges as tragic figure after ‘losing’ elections
25 MAY 2014 15:46 MG AFRICA WRITER

As aides plotted to steal the election for him, ex-Senegal president Diouf called Wade behind their backs and conceded defeat.
Heady days: Malawi president Joyce Banda waves to the crowd in Lilongwe for the official launch of her electoral presidential campaign, on March 29, 2014 in Lilongwe. (Photo/AFP) Heady days: Malawi president Joyce Banda waves to the crowd in Lilongwe for the official launch of her electoral presidential campaign, on March 29, 2014 in Lilongwe. (Photo/AFP)
Malawi’s President Joyce Banda on Saturday declared the May 20 chaotic election “null and void” and called for a fresh vote.

It looked like a classic African strongman power grab in the mode of Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe and former Cote d’Ivoire leader Laurent Gbagbo, who refused to hand over power when they lost elections in March 2008 and December 2010, respectively.

However, Banda stopped short of Mugabe’s and Gbagbo’s do-or-die resolve. The Malawi president, who has claimed there were “serious irregularities” with the poll, declared fresh elections should be held within 90 days, but perhaps eager to show that it was not about her personal ambitions, she said she would not stand as a candidate.

However, hours after her announcement, Malawi’s high court issued an injunction preventing the president from annulling the poll.

Pick fights
Though she tried not to come across as a power hog, the action damaged Banda further. By late Friday, with nearly a third of the votes counted, her rival, former Foreign minister Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), had 42% of the vote, while Banda had 23%, according to preliminary results announced by the electoral commission.

While the refusal of the Malawi Electoral Commission and High Court to kowtow to the president is heartening in a continent where these bodies tend to be subservient to the government of the day, it hasn’t helped Banda that she has been publicly humiliated.

Wise politicians don’t pick such fights if they are not sure they will win, or like Mugabe, are not willing to use all means necessary to get their way.

One example of a considered approach came in the second round of elections in Senegal in 2000. President Abdou Diouf faced much the same odds as Banda does today. As aides plotted to steal the election for him, Diouf called Abdoulaye Wade, the man who had won the elections, behind their backs and conceded defeat, preventing a crisis and going down on the brighter side of Senegalese political history. In defeat, Diouf emerged victorious.

Squandered fortunes
When Banda became president in April 2012, it was all but impossible to imagine she would have such a poor hand to play at the polls two years later. Banda, then vice president, took office when president Bingu wa Mutharika died years ago.

In the days after his death, Mutharika’s body was secretly flown to South Africa as his brother Peter Mutharika, who was foreign minister, allegedly tried to prevent her from being sworn in. That led to treason charges against him.

Mutharika’s eight-year rule was tainted by corruption, and the fact that his brother is likely to trounce Banda, speaks to just how much she has squandered her political fortunes.

Banda, 64, began her term as a darling of the international community, especially the West. She was the first female president in southern Africa, and at that point only the second on the continent after Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first female elected head of state in Africa.

Feminists and those who believe women bring a more empathetic and caring approach to politics, said it was just what Malawi, one of the poorest countries on the continent, needed.

Bright start
Banda made a promising start. She took a 30% salary cut, and sold off the presidential jet used by her successor. However, her government then got ensnared in a $30 million corruption scandal that has seen foreign donors freeze vital aid.

More recently, there were media reports that the presidential jet Banda charters, is the same one she sold, and that her political backers were paying for it, giving rise to suspicion that she had become a president for rent.

She then also became a butt of jokes with her frequent trips to Nigeria for spiritual guidance from the famous Prophet TB Joshua. Her critics alleged that Banda had been captured by Joshua, who they claimed even dictated her cabinet reshuffles and appointments.

Matters were not helped by the fact that the Tuesday election became a fiasco, further feeding the perception that Banda’s government was incompetent.

Polling stations opened as many as 10 hours late, sparking anger and speculation about the fairness of the vote, which spilled over into violence.

Be presidential
The army was deployed to contain the violence that saw polling stations burnt and marred an election seen as the first true test of Banda’s scandal-tainted rule. After the vote the electronic vote counting system collapsed, and election officials had to change to the slower manual.

This added fuel to suspicion of foul play. Angry youths took to the city centre, staging an impromptu mini-protest chanting anti-government slogans.

With Banda trying to quash the election results, Mutharika saw an opportunity to be presidential. On Saturday he was careful not to claim victory but said the “people have spoken and this was a free and credible election”.

“I hope the president abandons the path she has taken,” Mutharika said. “As citizens we should not take this country on the path of destruction and everyone should remain calm until results are announced.”

“Whoever has won should take over the government and start the process of rebuilding the country,” he said.

As UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on all parties to refrain from violence, remain calm and “support fully” the Malawi Electoral Commission in completing its work, it seemed it was Mutharika, not Banda, who was trying to put out the fires.

Beyond Malawi, whichever way the election is called, Banda’s last two years in office and conduct during the election crisis, will be referenced in discussions on how differently, if at all, women lead.

 

 

            Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
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