When Parliament passed in November 2017 the Political Parties Bill into law which, among other things, demands political parties to disclose sources of their funds and prohibits them from giving handouts to lure voters, there was a sense that this would sanitize electioneering in Malawi.
Today, seven years down the line, the law is toothless it can’t regulate anything of the sort.
And there are now fears that the status quo risks undermining the integrity of the 2025 if political parties continue to ignore the law and when the authorities seem not interest to see its enforcement.
Triggering debate on the law has been a clip that circulated on social media in the week.
In the clip, a Malawi Congress Party (MCP) aspirant for the 2025 parliamentary election in Mzuzu, Fransco Mkandawire, is seen distributing cash to people who had come to a meeting he called for on March 23, 2024 in Area 1B in Mzuzu City.
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The clip attracted a barrage of comments on social media with some attacking the Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) for not reigning this on. Initially, it was thought to be in connection with the ward councilor by-elections which took place in Karonga this week.
The electoral body investigated the matter and in a press statement, Mec said Mkandawire confirmed that the event was a caucus for MCP area committees from a constituency he wants to contest in Mzuzu.
Mec however steered itself clear from being a responsible authority to act on the matter.
Andrew Mpesi, said in a press statement that hand-outs fall under the legal domain of the Registrar of Political Parties, according to section 6 of the Political Parties Act of 2018.
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“Further, for those that feel there is an injury to the law regarding giving out handouts in the clip, they are advised to engage the Registrar of Political Parties or any other relevant authority according to sections 6 and 41 of the Political Parties Act,” said Mpesi.
However, at the moment, the office of Registrar of Political Parties has not been hired yet, according to Ministry of Justice spokesperson, Frank Namangale.
“The Registrar of Political Parties will be recruited soon. The process in almost complete,” Namangale said.
However, Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) and Youth and Society (Yas) have expressed disappointment with the current state of the law.
They fear it will undermine the integrity of the 2025 elections.
“Clearly, those charged with the responsibility to enforce the law are sleeping on the job, which is quite unfortunate considering that 2025 is fast approaching” CHRR Executive Director, Michael Kaiyatsa, said.
He further said there is a valid reason why the Political Parties Act bans handout –it is to level the political playing field.
“It is, therefore, important that those given the responsibility to enforce the law should wake up from their slumber and start doing their job,” he added.
Kaiyatsa said although enforcement of section 6 of the Act is the responsibility of the Registrar of Political Parties, Mec has no reason to excuse itself from enforcing it because it has jurisdiction over electoral matters. It should therefore take appropriate action alongside the registrar and the police to bring culprits to book in order to stop the malpractice.
“This is imperative if we are to preserve the integrity of the 2025 elections and any future elections,” Kaiyatsa said.
Yas Executive Director Charles Kajoloweka said the Political Parties Act has been deliberately rendered ineffective by authorities.
He said the failure to operationalize the office of a Registrar of Political Parties has significant ramifications in the enforcement of the Act.
“In the absence of an enabling enforcement mechanism of the Act, our elections will continue to be decided by the banknote rather than the ballot,” Kajoloweka said.
He added: “It is on this strength that we urge the Ministry of Justice and the civil Service Commission to expedite the recruitment of a Registrar of Political Parties, preferably 12 months before 2025 elections to ensure the enforcement of this regulatory framework.”
However, MCP spokesperson Peter Ching’oma defended Mkandawire who gave out cash handouts.
“Yes, the general rule is that the act condemns handouts but if you invite people from 45 kilometres away, it is human to refund their transport,” Ching’oma said adding, “We invite leaders to a conference and they borrow money for transport, we refund.”
Among other things, the Political Parties Act requires political parties to submit financial reports to the Registrar, who is required to publish the reports and also make them available on request under the Access to Information Act.
The Act allows political parties to receive private funding and donations from any individual or organization, within or outside Malawi and that a political party may perform any lawful activities for the purpose of raising funds for the party.
Under the Act, parties are required to disclose sources of funds and amounts received.
