|
|
|
|
| National |
| EC, NGOs clash on voter apathy |
|
by
Mclan Kanyang’wa, 18 August 2004
-
16:41:33
|
Election stakeholders said Monday one of the major obstacles to cutting down vote apathy is the Malawi Electoral Commission which they say has lost people’s confidence because of the way it messed up the elections.
But the Electoral Commission has accused non-government organisations (NGOs) accredited to carry out voter education of spending their time bashing the EC instead of doing their business, leading to low voter turn out.
Executive Director of the Centre for human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) Ollen Mwalubunju said an overhaul in the commission would boost the morale of voters as most people feel cheated in the way the current commission handled the May 20 elections.
“The manner in which the previous elections were held leaves a lot to be desired. There is growing lack of confidence in the current electoral commission,” said Mwalubunju.
He said the issue of fraud should be addressed so that people get to know the truth about the elections.
Mwalubunju called for a multifaceted approach to curbing voter apathy that would involve political parties, the media, religious leaders and members of the local assemblies.
He said CHRR has intensified civic education to motivate people at the grassroots to vote.
Malawi Electoral Support Network (Mesn) Chairman Moses Mkandawire last week also attributed growing voter apathy to the commission’s erratic handling the electoral process, which he described as a mess.
Electoral Commission spokesman Fegus Lipenga said most NGOs spent most of the time fighting with the commission instead educating the masses on the need to vote.
“From our recent findings during field trips we found out that radio was the only source of information on the elections,” Lipenga said.
He said the grassroots have said numerous NGOs were partisan in their civic education
“Even the church contributed to low voter turn out as some monitors were church leaders. People in the villages believe church leaders,” Lipenga added.
He said only 12 of the 21 accredited NGOs have produced their reports and the commission is still assessing whether it is necessary to accredit NGOs to assist in the process.
But Lipenga stressed that the success in the local government elections will depend on timely funding.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
