An aspirant for the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) first deputy president position Vitumbiko Mumba has demanded that the party should “immediately” reverse its decision to omit him from the list of contestants.

The development follows a court ruling yesterday which claimed that MCP National Executive Committee (NEC) has no powers to bar candidates to convention.

Through lawyer Khumbo Soko, Mumba has warned that if MCP does not act by 12:30pm today, he will seek legal redress.

Mumba is among 20 contestants missing on the list presented yesterday by the party, ahead of the party convention that starts in Lilongwe tomorrow.

In the letter dated 7 August 2024, the lawyer said as the court nullified the eligibility criteria for one to be elected into the party’s National Executive Committee, there is no justification for his exclusion.

The letter reads in part: “We are of the firm view that there is no bar to our client contesting for the position of first deputy president.

“Accordingly our view is that the decision to omit him from the list of ‘approved and vetted’ candidates is not legally sound.”