A confidential source has revealed that the opposition’s controversial plan to sabotage Malawi’s September general elections has now officially rolled out, with a clandestine civil society conference call held yesterday (Sunday, May 18).
Further, a strategic press briefing is scheduled to take place this morning (Monday, May 19), at Nkhwazi Lodge, New Lands in Blantyre, starting at 9:00 am.
This development marks a major escalation in the previously reported scheme, exposed on May 5 by The Pangolin Online, which laid bare a DPP-led opposition blueprint to undermine the electoral process, discredit the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), and provoke nationwide unrest.
DPP press briefing in Mangochi setting the tone for the clandestine plan
Yesterday’s conference call involved civil society organizations closely aligned with opposition parties—Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), People’s Party (PP), Alliance for Democracy (AFORD), and the United Democratic Front (UDF) and was convened to finalize plans for the press briefing and subsequent anti-MEC demonstrations.
The ultimate goal, according to insider sources, is to pressure MEC to abandon the use of Smartmatic technology in the 2025 elections and to grant access to external auditors to vet the voters’ roll—a move critics say is aimed at facilitating backdoor tampering.
Today’s press briefing is reportedly designed as the first step in a carefully structured timeline of civil unrest. According to a leaked plan obtained by The Pangolin Online, the roadmap includes:
- Today, May 19: The press briefing to publicly question MEC’s credibility.
- Next 7 Days: Protests in Blantyre to intensify pressure.
- Another 7 Days: Expanded protests in Mzuzu, Mangochi, and Karonga.
- Another 7 Days: Nationwide protests—excluding Lilongwe, deliberately spared due to its status as an MCP stronghold.
The target is to have 21 days of nationwide unrest and the roll out today has been strategically timed to coincide with the Public Affairs Committee’s (PAC) all-inclusive dialogue starting Tuesday (May 20). The press briefing is aimed at poisoning public perception and swaying opinion against MEC ahead of the high-level stakeholder discussions.
Insider documents and recordings already published show that the DPP led by former President Arthur Peter Mutharika is bankrolling this entire strategy. The DPP’s press briefing held last week laid rhetorical groundwork to erode trust in MEC, and today’s CSO gathering is intended to serve as a supposedly neutral civil society follow-up, masking its partisan roots.
APM funding the unrest using CSOs
The Pangolin Online exposé had already warned of this tactic, quoting activist Billy Malata discussing a plan to fund CSOs and vendors to stage protests under the guise of public interest advocacy. These groups were tasked with igniting unrest over MEC’s systems and inflaming anger over national issues like the cost of living.
Elections and governance experts have described these moves as a “ticking time bomb.” By launching this wave of unrest under the cover of civil society activity, the opposition not only seeks to destabilize the pre-election environment but also cast doubts over the legitimacy of any eventual results.
Notably, today’s planned press briefing echoes the tactics outlined in the exposed opposition playbook: targeted media manipulation, strategic public discontent, and covert manipulation of voter systems.
A governance watchdog, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “This is no longer speculation—it’s execution. The involvement of opposition-funded CSOs pretending to be neutral voices is deceptive and dangerous. The motive isn’t electoral reform; it’s systemic disruption.”
MEC has continued to assure Malawians of its transparency and security protocols, including the deployment of Smartmatic technology to enhance voter roll integrity and prevent fraud. But the opposition’s relentless effort to undermine the commission now risks plunging the country into a constitutional and democratic crisis.
The Civil Society Network on Electoral Integrity has issued a caution: “Citizens must remain alert to the difference between genuine reform advocacy and orchestrated chaos. Democracy dies when manipulation replaces dialogue.”
As events unfold at Nkhwazi Lodge today, the nation watches with growing concern. What was once dismissed as a political whisper campaign has now taken the form of public mobilization, with the potential to derail Malawi’s most consequential election since its return to multiparty democracy.
