Former Speaker Henry Chimunthu Banda who is also legislator for Nkhotakota North has endorsed Tonse Alliance presidential candidate Lazarus Chakwera ahead of the June 23 presidential elections.
Chimunthu made the announcement today in a move that has split opinions . The ruling DPP seems shocked at the timing of the announcement but many in the party seems not surprised as Chimunth has been on the sidelines for a long time.
Chimunthu said the decision to endorse the Tonse Alliance emanates from a need to change things for the better in the 2020 fresh presidential elections.“My constituents and I think time has come to do things a little bit differently,” said Chimunthu.
On his decision to leave the DPP, Chimunthu said his presence in the party was not being appreciated.
“We concluded that it is high time we accepted that we are not appreciated,” he said.
Chimunthu was the only other candidate who contested against Peter Mutharika at a DPP convention back in 2014 for the leadership of the party. A Month ago he was given a cabinet post , but he refused the post after claiming that he was not consulted prior to the appointment .
Chimunthu was DPP Secretary General as well as a cabinet during the Bingu wa Mutharika administration.
Chimunthu then took a five year break from politics before returning as a legislator after the 2019 elections.
