Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has told Speaker of Parliament Sammer Suleman and other senior party officials holding public office to respect President Arthur Peter Mutharika’s constitutional authority. DPP Secretary General Peter Mukhito says senior party officials must avoid actions that could create competing centres of authority or unnecessarily undermine the President and his government. Mukhito […]
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has told Speaker of Parliament Sammer Suleman and other senior party officials holding public office to respect President Arthur Peter Mutharika’s constitutional authority.
DPP Secretary General Peter Mukhito says senior party officials must avoid actions that could create competing centres of authority or unnecessarily undermine the President and his government.
Mukhito said this in a statement issued on September 3, 2026, following issues raised during a recent press briefing by Suleman, who is also a member of the DPP Central Executive Committee.
The DPP says it respects Parliament’s constitutional independence and its oversight role, but maintains that all senior party officials in public office must respect the constitutional mandate of the President, the authority of the Executive and collective party responsibility.
According to Mukhito, President Mutharika and his government were given a clear mandate by Malawians to govern, implement policies and deliver development.
He says that mandate must be respected.
The party has reminded its Central Executive Committee members that public office must be exercised with responsibility, restraint and respect for institutional boundaries.
It says no office should be used in a manner that creates competing centres of authority, unnecessarily weakens the President or affects government’s ability to discharge its constitutional responsibilities.
The DPP has, however, acknowledged that issues raised during Suleman’s briefing—including the Salima water project, civil servants’ contributory pension scheme, electricity generation and supply, ESCOM, EGENCO, NOCMA, passports, delays in the administration of justice, prison conditions, mining, agriculture and tobacco—are important national matters that deserve scrutiny.
But Mukhito says such concerns should be handled through institutions constitutionally and legally mandated to investigate, supervise and implement corrective action.
The party says Parliament must exercise oversight, the Executive must be allowed to govern and the Judiciary must remain independent, while party leaders must respect party discipline.
The DPP says it is particularly concerned when senior party members use public platforms in ways that create the impression of institutional conflict within a government led by the party.
Mukhito says political maturity requires consultation before confrontation and that accountability should strengthen government rather than paralyse it.
On Suleman, the party says the office of Speaker is a respected constitutional office which must be exercised with impartiality and fidelity to the Constitution.
However, the DPP says Suleman, as a member of its Central Executive Committee, must also remain conscious of the political organisation whose confidence and parliamentary support contributed to his elevation to the position.
The party therefore expects the Speaker, like every other senior DPP official, to respect Mutharika, the constitutional authority of the Executive, collective party decisions and the boundaries of his office.
The DPP says it will not discourage legitimate oversight or shield wrongdoing.
At the same time, it says it will not accept conduct that unnecessarily weakens the President’s authority, frustrates government programmes or creates avoidable public confrontation between the party and government.
Mukhito says Malawians elected the DPP to govern and the party’s responsibility is to remain united, disciplined and focused on delivering development, restoring essential public services and strengthening national institutions.
“No individual office is greater than the mandate given to us by the people,” he says.
