By Pemphero Malimba:
Malawians will have to wait a little longer to see the pull implementation of the Political Parties Act, which prohibits the issuing of handouts.
The Office of the Registrar of Political Parties intends to finalise the development and gazetting of the regulations by the end of this year.
In November 2017, Parliament passed the Political Parties Bill into law, which, among other things, requires political parties to disclose the sources of their funds and prohibits them from giving handouts to entice voters.
Fresh calls for the implementation of the law were made on Wednesday when members of Parliament (MPs) from the Defence and Security Committee engaged with the Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) on various electoral issues.
The MPs expressed concern that the regulations were taking too long to become effective in curbing the tendency to issue handouts.
Mec Chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja said that the Registrar of Political Parties is the appropriate authority to address the issue of guidelines for handouts.
In an interview with The Daily Times Thursday, Registrar of Political Parties, Kizito Tenthani, expressed hope that the regulations would be gazetted by December this year.
“I am aware that time is not on our side. All things being equal, I would love to see regulations in place and gazetted by the end of this year,” Tenthani said.
He added that this would allow his office to embark on sensitisation campaigns regarding the regulations.
“There has to be extensive sensitisation, not only for political parties but also for stakeholders. My plan is to do this early next year before the official campaign period,” Tenthani explained.
He added that his appeal for patience is based on the fact that his office has to conduct various activities to ensure that the regulations are developed, drafted and gazetted.
Political commentator George Chaima commented that it was not surprising to see the law not being adhered to, “as it cannot function effectively in the country.”
“The law on handouts was proposed long ago and has not been gazetted for deliberate reasons. In Malawi, the law on handouts is something that cannot work due to an environment filled with citizens who are needy and seek something.
“They feel good receiving something, as this culture has been instilled in the citizenry by policymakers and elites,” Chaima said.
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