By Patience Lunda & Rebecca Chimjeka:
The National Planning Commission (NPC) has disclosed that it has certified 15 manifestos for 13 political parties and two independent presidential candidates ahead of the September 16 General Elections.
This is in line with the Political Parties Amendment Act of 2022 which mandates NPC to review manifestos for political parties to ensure that they are aligned with the Malawi 2063 vision.
The amended Section 12 (A) of the Act gives powers to the Registrar of Political Parties not to register any political party “unless its manifesto is aligned to the national development agenda applicable at the time of registration”.
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The clause further extends to registered political parties which fail to align their manifestos to the Malawi 2063 that they will not be allowed to contest.
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When asked for the list of the certified political parties NPC spokesperson, Thom Khanje, said it is up to the parties and candidates to announce their status, not the NPC.
Khanje encouraged political parties and people intending to contest as independent presidential candidates to ensure that they submit their manifestos for certification before the commencement of the official campaign period on July 14, 2025.
“We are unable to mention names of parties that have been certified and those that have not but since the certification process is open and extends to entities intending to register as political parties and the amendment of a manifesto that is already certified, it would be speculative to suggest the number of parties that are yet to submit,” he said.
Further, Khanje said NPC is currently providing technical support to three political parties and one presidential candidate towards getting their manifestos validated.
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Earlier, NPC gave the political parties up to January 22, 2025 to submit their manifestos for review and certification ahead of receipt of nomination papers for presidential candidates by the Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) ahead of the September 16 General Elections.
Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD) Executive Director, Bonface Chibwana said the submission of the manifestos to NPC is crucial because political parties need to show how they would contribute to national development.
“All institutions need to make their aspirations in tandem to the MW 2063 and political parties are not an exception in this regard and as you know, we are a democratic country whereby we follow a political system; which is why they need the parties and candidates to align themselves,” he said.
The amended Section 12(A) of the Political Parties Act stipulates that NPC shall issue a certificate of compliance if a manifesto aligns with the national development agenda.
If a manifesto is deemed non-compliant, the commission gives the submitting entity 21 days to address the issues and resubmit.
On August 31, 2023, NPC hosted a workshop for political parties to guide them on aligning their manifestos with Malawi 2063.
And with almost seven months to the elections, most parties have announced they will hold their primaries for members of Parliament beginning February.
Malawi Congress Party says its primary elections will be conducted in two phases starting in February, using a secret ballot voting system.
The party’s publicity secretary Jessie Kabwila said primaries in constituencies with incumbent Members of Parliament will be held in mid-April, while those in constituencies without sitting MPs are scheduled for mid- February.
“We will make sure people select candidates based on their will; we will not impose any candidates,”Kabwila said.
Democratic Progressive Party said it is currently working on modalities for the primaries.
The party’s spokesperson, Shadric Namalomba, said they are likely to hold primaries between March and April.
People’s Party spokesperson Ackson Kalaile said they are analysing constituency data to finalise details.
“Once the analysis is complete, we will communicate the exact dates for our primaries. The data is helping us determine where aspirants will contest,” Kalaile said.
UTM spokesperson Patrick Njawala confirmed that their party is ready to hold primary elections starting in February.
Up to 228 constituencies will be up for grabs following a constituency re-demarcation exercise the Malawi Electoral Commission conducted in 2022, rising from 193.
The Northern Region has 37 constituencies from 33; the Central Region has 20 new constituencies—from 73 to 93— while the Southern Region will have 98 constituencies, a jump of 11 from 87.
