Jordan Simeon-Phiri -MEC Stringer

The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has appealed to political parties to propagate issue based campaign during this official campaign period in preparations for the Constitutional Court July 2 sanctioned fresh presidential elections.

MEC chairperson. Jane Ansah sremidned all political parties that the official campaign period is time for contesting candidates and political parties to freely sell themselves to the electorates.

“The Commission is reminding all candidates and political parties that they signed to adhere to the Code of Conduct for Political Parties and Candidates and we expect them to abide by it. During campaign, tell the electorates the substance of your manifesto and not focus on castigations and hate speech,” reads the statement.

The statement further tells political parties to take this period as a defining moment and avoid taking it as an instrument to harass, humiliate, demonise, defame, intimidate and repress each other.

“If a candidate or political party is associated with this, they should be cautious because that might rebound. Parties and candidates have the responsibility to seriously address real issues, elaborate their manifesto, so that voters judge them based on ideas and on how they would resolve problems facing our nation,” said Ansah in the statement.

The Commission has also appealed to political parties to find other innovative ways of reaching out to the electorates due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and various public health guidelines and restrictions.

In an interview, MCP secretary general Eisenhower Mkaka welcomed MEC’s plea with reservations, saying the Commission lacks the biting teeth to deal with complaints related to political violence.

“As a party we are ready to do issue based campaign with focus on what we will do once elected. However, our major concern is on MEC itself for failing to punish perpetrators of political violence in Mulanje and Thyolo who on different occasions hacked MCP and UTM party supporters in a Local Government by-election and their monitors during voter registration exercise respectively,” Mkaka said.

DPP secretary general Grezelder Geoffrey could not be drawn to comment on whether her party is ready to adhere to the Commission’s appeal.

However, a political commentator George Phiri expressed reservations on the matter, saying it is doubtful whether parties will comply with the call by the MEC chairperson

by  Tiyamike Masankhula

Mponela Police has expressed worry over the drastic rates at which road accidents are happening especially along the M1 road from Lilongwe to Kasungu within the first four months of the year.

The concern has come following the deaths of seven people who died in different fatal road accidents in just a space of seven days.

According to Inspector Kaitano Lubrino, Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mponela Police Station, the current trend was bad as many lives have been lost due to continued road accidents.

The PRO said this, citing one of the recent road carnage in which a woman was hit to death by a car on Tuesday and a head on collision that happened prior to this which also claimed one life.

“The trends are bad this year especially with the drastic occurrence in the past week. Out of 33 road accidents registered from January to April this year, 33 victims were seriously injured, while 11 lives were lost against 10 lives of same period in 2019,” he said.

Lubrino said that Mtiti Bridge, Mponela, Madisi and Mtengowathenga Trading Centres are the areas that have been prone to road accidents hence he warned motorists to drive with caution.

Mponela Police Station Traffic Officer, Inspector, Harris Mbirimtengerenji attributed most of the accidents in the area to speeding which shows that some of these accidents are not inevitable.

“Road users should abide to all road traffic rules and regulations so that road accidents in the country are reduced. These rules should be observed at all times as it has been noted that most of these accidents happen during the night,” he said.

Meanwhile, Police are pleading with road users to be mindful at all times when using roads as the death toll keeps on rising.