Opposition parties in Malawi have called for fair treatment in the campaign period, arguing various organs of government, including the police and chiefs tend to favour the ruling party.
The parties such as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), National Salvation Front (Nasaf), United Democratic Front (UDF), National Rainbow Coalition (Narc), Alliance for Democracy (Aford) and Umodzi Party (UP) made the call during a Multiparty Liaison Committee (MPLC) meeting in Mzimba North last week.
According to the parties, various government departments involved in issues of campaign tend to favour the ruling party. They said such acts give the ruling party an upper hand in the elections as the others are suppressed.
They appealed to district councils to ensure that all political parties have equal access to campaign grounds.
The parties also appealed to police to arrest all people who disrupt campaigns irrespective of the party they belong to. They noted that members of the ruling party who disrupt opposition’s meeting go unpunished and opposition parties are in turn faulted for the chaos.
The members also said all political parties have to stick to the code of conduct to ensure sanity.
UP acting regional governor (North) Simon Shaba said the ruling party should not abuse the police and chiefs in the campaign period to suppress the opposition.
“These people (police, chiefs) work under pressure, they are scared that they might be demoted or anything will happen to them. So, we get surprised that when members of the ruling party cause violence or disrupt the opposition meeting, they are never arrested and in some cases the opposition is even faulted,” said Shaba.
Mzuzu Police officer in charge Dorothy Kachinga said police will look into the complaints presented by the parties to ensure fair campaign.
National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) Trust district civic and education officer (Mzuzu) Wallace Kudzala said the parties have to fight for fair campaign to ensure fair elections.
