By Deogratias Mmana:
European Union (EU) Ambassador to Malawi Rune Skinnebach has said the lack of transparency over political party and campaign financing remains a thorn in elections and called for political will to ensure implementation of recommendations that the EU Elections Observer Mission (EU EOM) made after the 2019 elections.
Skinnebach said this yesterday during an interface with the press at his residence in Lilongwe, where he announced the EU’s K3.5 billion support for the 2025 elections with a call to the government to allocate sufficient financial resources to the Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) in a timely manner for preparations.
He said it is not comforting that there is no transparency in how political parties get their financing, including for campaigning, and that he has hit a snag in his efforts to get answers to the issue.
“We are concerned about the lack of transparency on political party funding. I have asked members of Parliament and others but got no answer. In my political dialogue, I will continue pushing for a legal framework that pushes for transparency,” Skinnebach said.
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Malawi has a Political Parties Act of 2018, which falls short on implementation of party financing issues.
The call for transparency in political party financing was one of the recommendations in the EU EOM report of the 2019 elections but Skinnebach said it is among recommendations not yet implemented.
He said out of the 24 recommendations offered, three have been fully and four partially implemented. These include strengthening the independence and integrity of presiding officers, harmonisation of the legislation with regards to the date on which a voter must be 18 to be eligible to be registered and entry into force of the Access to Information Act.
Through its Malawi Democratic Governance Programme, the EU has provided about K3.5 billion towards the 2025 elections basket fund, making it the largest contributor to the $8.324 million basket fund.
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The fund, according to the ambassador, will support three components which include bolstering the capacity of the Mec, Malawi Police Service and civil society to engage in the electoral process; supporting inclusiveness where women, youths and persons with disabilities are engaged in the electoral process and strengthening existing mechanisms that contribute to conflict prevention and mitigation.
Skinnebach said the EU will also make a K4 billion bilateral contribution to the National Initiative for Civic Education Public Trust to support voter education, accountability strengthening, human rights enjoyment and mobilisation for citizen participation.
He added that the EU will also contribute another K4 billion to civil society for dedicated action focusing on enhancing the participation of women, youths and marginalised people in the electoral process.
The project will be implemented in Rumphi, Mzimba, Salima, Dedza, Machinga, Mulanje and Nsanje.
Minister of Information Moses Kunkuyu commended the EU for the support, pledging to support Mec conduct free and fair elections in 2025.
“This is exciting news. We, as government, will live up to our commitment of ensuring free and fair elections in respecting the rights of the people to vote and have their vote count,” Kunkuyu said.
“We have seen the devastation that unfair elections can cause to a country and we would not want a repeat of that,” he added.
