PARTIES LABEL BY-ELECTIONS CAMPAIGN PERIOD “MIXED BAG”

Candidates have on Sunday winded up their campaigns for the Tuesday by-elections to be conducted in seven constituencies and two wards.

Political parties participating in the election have since described the official campaign period as a success despite facing Covid 19 restriction in public gatherings.

The parties have however labeled the campaign period as a mixed bag

Moses Kunkuyu who is the national campaign director for Malawi Congress Party (MCP) says the Covid 19 pandemic made it difficult to effectively reach out to prospective voters in some areas.

“Campaigning in the country involves bringing people in one place and having entertainment as alternative media to send your message,” said Kunkuyu

Meanwhile, the United Transformation Movement (UTM) Publicity Secretary Frank Mwenefumbo says the campaign period has been successful but laments it was short.

“Time frame was very tight and some areas were inaccessible especially in Karonga North,” said Mwenefumbo.

Ken Nsonda of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) however says the opposition party expects MEC to do a good job during the election.

Meanwhile, the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) spokesperson Sangwani Mwafulirwa has called on all stakeholders to help in ensuring that there are no campaign activities after the closure of the period at 6 AM on Sunday.

“We are appealing to all the society and stakeholders to ensure that they are on the lookout so that whatever they do they observe this deadline,” said Mwafulirwa.

The campaign period however was marred with a number of controversies including violence in some areas, while others condemned the parties for failure to adhere to Covid 19 preventive measures especially when conducting campaign rallies.