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| National |
| Opposition, NGOs fear voter apathy, rigging |
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by
Pilirani Semu-Banda, 17 October 2003
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14:51:25
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Major opposition parties and NGOs have said it is very likely that next year’s tripartite elections will be marred by rigging and voter apathy because the Electoral Commission (EC) is failing to work competently in preparing for the elections.
But deputy secretary general for the ruling UDF Paul Maulidi said his party is satisfied with the preparations for the elections and that it is looking forward to free and fair elections.
“We’re happy with everything to do with the preparations for the elections,” said Maulidi.
He said his party has also started doing its own voter education and that it is satisfied with the conduct of the Electoral Commission.
However, NDA spokesperson Faustace Chirwa said EC needs to put its house in order and put up reforms whereby even those parties that are not represented in Parliament will have commissioners on board the Commission.
“Our interests are not being addressed because we don’t have a commissioner in the Electoral Commission,” said Chirwa.
She said even now, when elections are just seven months away, the Commission is failing to conduct proper civic and voter education and that if EC does not change the elections will not be free.
“People in rural areas think Bingu Mutharika is an automatic successor to Muluzi. All this is because the Commission has left UDF to monopolise the public media and misinform them,” said Chirwa.
Director of Elections for MCP Jodder Kanjere said EC risks losing people’s confidence because it is failing to address concerns by opposition parties.
He said there have been concerns that it would not make sense for the Commission to receive nominations of candidates before Parliament is dissolved but it would be difficult for newcomers to be nominated to positions that are still occupied.
“But the Electoral Commission is sticking to its decision,” said Kanjere.
He also worried over the composition of District Elections Surpervisory Teams which, he said, are mostly comprised of wives to UDF top officials and that EC does not care about this.
“The Commission must be seen to be above suspicion otherwise all of us will lose confidence in it. The Commission does not seem to be responding to public concern,” said Kanjere.
PPM spokesperson Catherine Chisala said her party is not “quite happy” with the way EC is working saying the concerns levelled against EC chair James Kalaile need to be addressed and cleared out.
There has been mounting pressure from opposition parties and Forum for the Defence Democracy (FDD) that Kalaile should resign as EC chair on allegations that he is partisan and incompetent to administer next year’s polls and the Public Affairs Committee (Pac) is also conducting full investigations into these allegations.
Chisala said EC is allowing the ruling UDF to have an unfair advantage over the rest of the parties by letting it use public air-waves to carry out its campaign.
“We’re, however, pleased that coalition talks among all the opposition parties have began because this will bring a difference to the elections,” said Chisala.
Moses Mkandawire, a member of a network for NGOs accredited to conduct civic and voter education called the Malawi Electoral Support Network (Mesn), said “it is highly likely that there will be voter apathy” because the civic and voter education process which was supposed to have commenced by now “has not really started in earnest”.
“We can’t rule out voter apathy. Something drastic has to be done,” said Mkandawire.
He said the accredited NGOs are failing to work properly on civic and voter education because they have not received proper funding from donors and that it is only GTZ which has come forth with the money for the exercise.
When contacted for comment, Kalaile said he will not comment on the issues raised through the newspapers but that he will only be meeting political leaders whose parties have written him official complaints.
“For instance I am meeting Honourable {Gwanda} Chakuamba soon,” said Kalaile.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), administering the basket for funding the elections, officials refused to comment on why NGOs have not been funded yet saying it is the Electoral Commission that should coordinate with the donors and not them.
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