NICE TRUST BEMOANS LOW WOMEN PARTICIPATION IN THE TUESDAY’S BY-ELECTIONS

Unofficial results of the Tuesday by-elections indicate that the governing Malawi Congress Party (MCP) has a lion’s share in the victories while the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) suffered serious casualties.

As the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) which is mandated by the law to declare winners in such elections is yet to make its determinations, messages of professional management of the by-election started pouring in.

The National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) Trust says it is upbeat that once MEC confirms the unofficial results in seven constituencies and two wards, the outcomes will reflect the will of the voters.

A statement by the Nice Trust signed by the executive director Ollen Mwalwubunju says by-elections have however exposed some shortfalls in election management which require efforts to deal with.

The statement cited the shrinking participation of women in the electoral administration and contestants.

According to the statement, out of 49 candidates, only nine were women in the just ended by-election for example.

Surprisingly the statement acknowledged that more women participated as voters and during the pre-voting exercises such as verification and registration.

The Statement however lobbies MEC and other Stakeholders to improve female participation based on the Gender Quality Act of 2013.