On my journey to Ntchisi over the weekend, a middle-aged man stands along the dilapidated Lilongwe-Kasungu road and gesticulates as our minibus approaches. He wants to board. He is clad in a DPP branded t-shirt, slippers of difference colours and make, and a pair of trousers that even from a distance, appears to have encountered more sewing machines than water and soap.
Inside, the general impression is that he is drunk. He looks that way, to be fair. But, the people inside are excited all the same. A DPP supporter will make their discussion livelier, they say. And oh, these people have been discussing the upcoming elections since the minibus took off at Kanengo. From the look of it, all of them seem to be decided on voting for Dr. Saulos Chilima. Despite my spirited attempt following their discussions keenly, I simply cannot come around the reasons behind this choice.
The minibus stops, and the man embarks, to the excitement of the passengers already aboard. He notices the grins and the eyes raining on him from all sides. He quickly sandwiches himself between two some noisy women, spreads his eyes around and begins to speak before anyone could say anything.
“I know you people think I belong to DPP, but I don’t. I have just worn this because I don’t have clothes. Lazarus Chakwera is the man to vote for, not these others”. He is received by chuckles from almost everyone in the minibus. And oh, he is indeed drunk.
He has the attention of his audience now, so he goes on preaching the Malawi Congress Party gospel. He does not say why he thinks Dr. Chakwera is the best candidate – the conviction in his voice is enough. Here and there, he mentions why voting for Dr. Saulos Chilima will be voting for the DPP indirectly. The UTM supporters are dismayed. They quiz him to explain but doesn’t. Just like he doesn’t explain why voting for the DPP is such despicable idea.
The man gets off just before Mponela. At Mponela, a few more passengers get on board. They too seem to be entangled in the euphoria, so the political talks continue all the way to Ntchisi. They are all professing their support for one candidate or the other. Here and there, it becomes so heated between the MCP and UTM supporters. There is no DPP supporter in this minibus, by the look of it. And no one is attempting to imagine or suggest that DPP in this race too.
You cannot miss their excitement and anticipation. In a little over a week, they will be going to the polls to elect new leaders in pursuit of democratic principles. This, they have been told, is the time they give the mandate to some people to govern them. What an equalizer, elections. This is one of the few occasions that these people feel this important. They are looking forward to 21 May, and at the victory of their favourite candidate, they will rejoice like their life just won a jackpot.
What you can obviously miss, however, are the reasons behind their choices of candidates. The conviction is there, unmistakably. They all seem to believe that theirs is the right candidate to vote for. And one can bet that they have their reasons. If you asked them, you could get a plethora of them. Sadly, though, for our politics, those reasons revolve around prejudices bordering on tribe, district or region of origin, religion and perennial party affiliations, and not really about policy and issues.
It will be unfair to fault these people. This is a disease suffered by even the learned amongst us. If you quizzed any of your friends on the real reason they are voting for a particular candidate, it all goes down to preferences that are informed by the very same petty prejudices. The reasons will not in any way border on matters of policy or ideology. For what is worth, there is not much to differentiate our political parties on that front. It is just the personalities that differentiate one party from the other (or they try so hard to look different.)
See, a few weeks ago, an old college friend just confessed to me that he will vote for MCP because ‘Chakwera comes from the same region as me and he studied the same program at Chancellor College as me.’
Those are the underlying factors that influence the political decisions we make. Much as we try to mask them with decorated manifestos and promises, at the end of the day, the voters have their own reasons. These prejudices are embedded into our political system so much so that it is simply hard to ostracize ourselves from them. It would be easy if our political landscape was shaped by distinct ideologies and policies. But in a political environment when anyone can be a member of any party on any given day, it is blatant naivety to believe that our political parties and politicians are guided by ideological principles or policy inclinations.
Since the politicians know this, they try as much as possible to leverage the weakness of the system to gain the numbers. It is why the choice of a running-mate is not an easy one amongst all parties, and in the long-run, it is why we have had dysfunctional relationship between the presidency and the vice presidency. (more of this in one of my next entries). The choice of a potential vice-president is basically limited to which name gives us more numbers from which demographic community.
Until such a time that our political parties and politicians are guided by distinct ideologies, the reality on the ground is that this election, like the others before it, with be decided by preferences from such prejudices. Once again, the nation is heading into an election that will be decided by small margins.
Where is 50+1 when you need it?
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