By Vincent Gunde
The Concerned Citizens of Malawi and Economic Freedom Movement will on 9th October, 2024 Shutdown Lilongwe to present a petition to the High Court of Malawi to decide as the final say for Malawians to vote in the 2025 elections with or without national Identity cards.
The two groups presented a petition to the Malawi Parliament at the just ended sitting of Parliament to deliberate on the Repeal of section 12 for being inconsistent with provisions of section 77 of the Republic of Malawi.
Beside assurance from the office of the Speaker of Parliament that a Private Members motion will be moved for Members of Parliament to deliberate on the amendment but this did not happen best explained by Parliament itself.
On the day of tabling the said private members motion, Leader of Opposition in Parliament Dr. George Chaponda chose to absent himself from presenting the motion levelling the accusations as true that parliamentarians pocket money for some bills to pass or not.
Leader of the Concerned Citizens of Malawi Activist Edwards Kambanje, has urged Malawians regardless of their political party affiliations to patronize the peaceful demonstrations march which is not going to the District Council offices as always be but the High Court of Malawi.
Kambanje expressed hope that after the two state institutions Parliament and National Registration Bureau (NRB) have failed to address the issue of the National IDs be the sole identification, the courts will stand with Malawians.
“The NRB has failed to register all eligible voters, figures registered are not matching with the previous elections, so many challenges, many Malawians will be barred from voting,” he said.
Speaking at AFORD’s elective conference held recently in Lilongwe, President of the party Enock Kamzingeni Chihana, said opposition parties are not trusting Mec and its Chairperson Justice Anabel Mtalimanja ready to conduct free, fair, credible and transparent 2025 elections in Malawi.
Chihana said Mec’s strategic positions appointments are on tribal lines-the Chewas observing that the current Mec is running the affairs of the MCP to rig the 2025 elections describing this as dangerous and a recipe for violence in Malawi.
He warned Mec that if it still insists that the 2025 elections voting be on the use of national Identity Cards (IDs), his party and other opposition parties will boycott the elections for the MCP to continue be in government through the window.
“What the opposition parties are after, is to see to it that all eligible voters with or without national IDs are allowed to take part in the voting processes and nothing else,” said Chihana.
On his part, President and Commander in Chief of Muvi wa Chilungamo Revolutionary Party (MRP) Bantu Saunders Jumah, warned the MCP led government that if it does nowt bow down to the demands of Malawians of voting with or without national IDs, it should expect no government and no Parliament in 2025.
