MCP President,Hon. Lazarus Chakwera Addresses The Nation

The President of Malawi Congress Party,Right Honourable Lazarus Chakwera today called for a press briefing to address the Nation.

Below is the statement he addressed the nation:

Fellow Malawians,

This day marks 250 days since the eve of Election Day.

On that pregnant night, over 5.1 million of you decided that you would vote the next day.
You also decided whom you would vote for to be your Councilor, your MP, and your
President. This was not merely a personal or political choice, but a sacred one. Your vote
carried your deepest faith and highest hope for your country, your community, your home,
and your life.

Because of that, you have fixed your unblinking gaze on the Constitutional Court to deliver
its independent and impartial ruling on the credibility, legality, and validity of the
presidential election. And now, all of us as a nation stand in the valley of the Court’s
decision, for at any moment during the next ten days, the five judges will emerge from their
conclave to mete out justice.

I know that the road we have traveled together thus far hasn’t been easy.

It has been hard on you to march the streets in protest, feeling the pain of seeing your
demands fall on deaf ears and your life put on hold.

It has been hard on you to lose your assets and business, feeling the pain of seeing your hard work destroyed and a police officer killed by those who exploit lawful demonstrations
to break laws.

It has been hard on you to endure acts of police brutality, feeling the pain of being harassed,
tortured, unjustly arrested, and raped by officers in places like Msundwe.

It has been hard on you to hear of various efforts to obstruct justice, feeling the pain of alleged attempts to bribe judges and abuse court instruments.

It has been hard on you to be a public servant or teacher, feeling the pain of working without materials, without housing, and without pay.

It has been hard on you to be a student, feeling the pain of missing classes because of the
continuing strikes against a dysfunctional government of failed leaders.

It has been hard on you to be denied development, feeling the pain of being insulted and sidelined by politicians because of where you were born or where you live.

It has been hard on you to be facing hunger yet again, feeling the pain of depleted maize
reserves and the misuse of the 10 billion kwacha that was allocated to procure it.

In the face of such hardships, it can be all too easy to feel that all that was once good in our country is lost or that there is nothing good ahead that is worth fighting for. Indeed, there are some people, both domestic and foreign, who see these hardships as omens of a coming apocalypse.

But where they see our nation’s gloom and doom, I see its light and might. To me, these
hardships are the labour pains of a new birth for our nation. And the signs are everywhere
that despite the anguish of the labour pains, we as Malawians have reached a point of no return in pushing to see a new Malawi delivered. We have finally realised that those of us who wish Malawi well far outnumber those who exploit her.

So today, as we are together at this crossroads, let us rise to what this occasion demands.

Let us rise with every Malawian who is providing Servant Leadership, as the judges of the
Constitutional Court are doing.

Let us rise with every Malawian who is fighting for a cause that is Uniting Malawians, as the
leaders of Civil Society Organisations are doing.

Let us rise with every Malawian who is working in every region to see us Prospering Together, as the Civil Servants are doing.

Let us rise with every Malawian who is risking it all and daring the odds to End Corruption,
as the directors of the Anti-Corruption Bureau are doing.

Let us rise with every Malawian who respects the uniform they put on every day by only using it to uphold the Rule of Law, as those in the Malawi Defense Force are doing.

In the same way, whenever it is that the Court delivers its ruling, let us rise to that occasion
to accept it, to respect it, to support it, and to uphold it.

Let us resolve to welcome the ruling with open arms as a foundation on which we can begin
the work of rebuilding our nation and reconciling with each other. After all, we have no other nation to call our home than Malawi and no other people to call our own than each other. And I, for one, would never trade it for any other on earth.

God bless Malawi and God bless you.