25th Aug 2014 Former President of Malawi Joyce Banda has finally opened up on the reason behind her quick acceptance of the election that saw her out of office, just days after alleging electoral malpractices and calling for a fresh election. According to This is Malawi, Mrs Banda, believed that had she not conceded, political violence would have escalated, as supporters of her party had already started arming themselves in preparation for clashes with opposing parties.
In her own words, “When I heard what was being planned, I made the decision to concede to help stop an escalation of violence because my supporters and others were arming themselves and preparing for a bloodbath … I didn’t want that to happen on my watch, I had to stop it although I knew that the vote was stolen,” said Banda in an exclusive interview with New African.
Be that as it may, and irrespective of the fact that she served only one term, Mrs Banda did leave behind the beginnings of progress which her successor Peter Mutharika, will no doubt build on, among other things, she repealed repressive laws, restored relations with the diplomatic community and worked to empower women.
The Malawian economy also grew from 1.8% to over 6%, and the foreign reserves also improved considerably.