Richard Msowoya

Last updated

Richard Msowoya is a Malawian politician who served as Speaker of the National Assembly of Malawi from 2014 to 2019.

Msowoya served as Deputy Minister of Education in Bingu wa Mutharika's cabinet but he resigned following the introduction of the controversial 'equitable' selection of students into Malawian public higher education institutions, dubbed, 'the quota' system which, presumably, disenfranchises capable students from more populous and intellectually more gifted districts.

He was elected as a member of the National Assembly on 20 May 2014, and on 16 June 2014 he was elected as Speaker of the National Assembly, receiving 101 votes against 89 for Francis Kasaila. [1] He was also the running mate of Lazarus Chakwera, the Malawi Congress Party's presidential candidate in the May 2014 general elections. [2]

In July 2018, Msowoya announced that he had joined the then newly formed United Transformation Movement (UTM) [3] . During the 2019 Presidential and parliamentary elections , Msowoya decided not to contest in his Karonga Nyungwe constituency. Her daughter, Dr Luwani Msowoya became the UTM candidate for the area but went on to lose the seat to Independent Candidate Kenneth Ndovie [4]

Related Research Articles

President of Malawi Head of state and government of Malawi

The president of the Republic of Malawi is the head of state and head of government of Malawi. The president leads the executive branch of the Government of Malawi and is the commander-in-chief of the Malawian Defence Force.

Elections in Malawi Political elections for public offices in Malawi

Malawi elects on national level a head of state - the president - and a legislature. The president and the vice-president are elected on one ballot for a five-year term by the people. A simple plurality is required to win; there is no provision for a runoff election. The National Assembly has 193 members, elected for a five-year term in single-seat constituencies. Malawi is a multi-party system, which means that there are multiple parties as well as a number of independent politicians who do not formally associate with any party.

Brown James Mpinganjira, popularly known as BJ is a Malawian Politician who used his 1986 detention to fight the injustices of the then one party state. He worked with others in prison and used their time to devise ways on how to change the direction of Malawi's political state. Mpinganjira was detained in 1986 and was released in 1991 due to international pressure. He began working for British council upon his release and received support from international community to form a pressure group and lobby for a referendum to decide whether Malawi was still to remain a one party state or become a multi party democracy. In the 1993 referendum, history was made at the polls when Malawians voted for multi party democracy. In the first multi party elections, Mpinganjira contested as Member of Parliament in his home town Mulanje. He won the parliamentary seat in 1994 and served as an MP for Mulanje Central for 15years. In the 15 years that he was in parliament, Mpinganjira had a colourful political career and is one of the best political masterminds in Malawi. He has contested once as a presidential candidate for National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2004 and as a running mate in the Mgwirizano Coalition in 2009.

The Alliance for Democracy is a political party in Malawi that marked its history as laying the foundation for multi-party rule in Malawi. It began as an underground political movement during the Kamuzu Banda era and later evolved to a political party during the multi-party era under the leadership of trade union activist, Chakufwa Chihana. AFORD has a stronghold in the northern region. The president is Godfrey Shawa.

John Zenus Ungapake Tembo is a Malawian politician who served for years as President of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP). Tembo comes from the Dedza District in central Malawi, and he is a teacher by profession. Beginning in the 1960s he was an important politician in Malawi, and he was a key figure in the regime of Hastings Banda (1964–1994). He has been variously described as "physically slight, ascetic, fastidious" and "cunning". He was replaced as President of the MCP in August 2013.

Rodwell Thomas Changara Munyenyembe was a Malawian politician who served twice as Speaker of the National Assembly, from 1994 to 1999 and again from 2004 until his death. He also twice served as a cabinet minister, in the governments of Hastings Banda and Bakili Muluzi. He worked as a teacher prior to entering politics.

National Assembly (Malawi) Supreme legislative body of Malawi

The National Assembly of Malawi is the supreme legislative body of the nation. It is situated on Capital Hill, Lilongwe along Presidential Way. The National Assembly alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in Malawi. At its head is the Speaker of the House who is elected by his or her peers. Since June 19, 2019 the Speaker is Catherine Gotani Hara.

Lovemore Moyo is a Zimbabwean politician who was Speaker of the House of Assembly of Zimbabwe from 2008 to 2013. He was the National Chairman of the Movement for Democratic Change - Tsvangirai (MDC-T) party led by Morgan Tsvangirai from 2006 to 2018.

Justin Chimera Malewezi was a Malawian politician and a Member of Parliament for Ntchisi North in the Central Region of Malawi. He was Vice-President of Malawi from 1994 to 2004. Malewezi quit the United Democratic Front in 2004 and eventually represented the People's Progressive Movement in the 2004 general election, in which he garnered 2.5% of the total national vote.

Peter Mutharika President of Malawi from 2014 to 2020

Arthur Peter Mutharika is a Malawian politician and lawyer who was President of Malawi from May 2014 to June 2020. Mutharika has worked in the field of international justice, specialising in international economic law, international law and comparative constitutional law. He informally served as an adviser to his older brother, President Bingu wa Mutharika, on issues of foreign and domestic policy from the onset of his election campaign until the President's death on 5 April 2012.

Nancy Tembo Malawian politician

Nancy Tembo is a Malawian politician and serves as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Malawi Government since 2022. She is also a Member of Parliament (MP) representing Lilongwe City South West constituency in the National Assembly of the Republic of Malawi.

Sam Mpasu was a Malawian politician, author, and former diplomat. He served as Minister of Commerce, Secretary General of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in 1999, and speaker of the Malawi National Assembly.

Catherine Gotani Hara Malawian politician

Catherine Gotani Hara is a Malawian politician who has been the Speaker of the National Assembly since June 2019, the first woman to hold the position.

Chimunthu Banda Malawian politician

Henry Chimunthu Banda is a Malawian politician who was the Speaker of the National Assembly of Malawi from May 2009 to May 2014. He was elected in 2009 as the Chair of the 19 member Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Africa region.

Lazarus Chakwera President of Malawi since 2020

Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera is a Malawian theologian and politician who has served as President of Malawi since June 2020. In addition to the Presidency, he also gave himself a cabinet portfolio as Minister of Defence. He has been leader of the Malawi Congress Party since 2013, and was previously Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly following highly controversial elections held on 21 May 2019 which were overturned by the Constitutional Court. He was appointed chairman of SADC on 17 August at the SADC 41st Annual Summit held on 9 August to 19 August in Lilongwe, Malawi. He was President of the Malawi Assemblies of God from 1989 to 14 May 2013.

Saulos Chilima Malawian economist and politician

Saulos Klaus Chilima is a Malawian economist and politician who is the incumbent vice president of the Republic of Malawi. Chilima assumed office on 28 June 2020, winning the majority alongside presidential candidate Lazarus Chakwera. Chilima also served as the Minister of Economic Planning and Development, as well as Head of Public Sector Reforms, a position he also previously held under the administration of former president Peter Mutharika. Before joining politics, Chilima held key leadership positions in various multi-national companies including Unilever, Coca-Cola and Airtel Malawi, where he rose to become Chief Executive Officer.

2019 Malawian general election Annulled election won by President Peter Mutharika

General elections were held in Malawi on 21 May 2019 to elect the President, National Assembly and local government councillors. Incumbent President Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party was re-elected, with his party remaining the largest in the National Assembly. However, on 3 February 2020, the Constitutional Court annulled the presidential election results due to evidence of irregularities, and ordered fresh elections be held. They were widely dubbed the "Tipp-Ex elections" after a brand of correction fluid which opponents claimed had been used to tamper with votes.

Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda is a Malawian politician. In 2020 she became Minister of Health in Malawi.

United Transformation Movement Political party in Malawi

The United Transformation Movement (UTM) is a political party in Malawi founded by Saulos Chilima, Vice President of Malawi.

Clement Terence Chiwaya was a Malawian politician who served as an MP for Mangochi Central from 2004 to 2019. He was also Minister of Social Development and Persons with Disabilities from 2004 through 2005.

References

  1. "Parliament elects Speaker". Parliament of Malawi. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  2. Wanga Gwede (16 June 2014). "MCP's Msowoya elected Speaker of Malawi Parliament". Nyasa Times. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  3. Kantambe, Faith (21 July 2018). "Richard Msowoya joins United Transformation Movement".
  4. Moyo, Judith. "Msowoya will not contest in 2019". Nyasatimes.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)