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“Vote a leader who will narrow gap between rich and poor”: Malawian Bishop on Rerun

Bishop Martin Mtumbuka of Malawi’s Karonga Diocese.

Ahead of the Presidential election rerun in Malawi scheduled to take place Tuesday, June 23, a Catholic Bishop in the Southeastern African nation has challenged voters to consider electing a candidate who will prioritize the socio-economic welfare of citizens, making narrow “the wide gap” between the rich and the poor.

“This election is a decisive moment for our country; Malawians need to vote wisely for a leader who will narrow down the wide gap between the haves and the have nots emanating from lack of good economic policies and rule of law,” Bishop Martin Mtumbuka of Malawi’s Karonga Diocese was quoted as saying Sunday, June 21.

Speaking during Mass at St. Mary’s Parish Karonga in Northern Region of Malawi, Bishop Mtumbuka made known his “great concern” about the “huge economic difference between the rich and the poor due to poor leadership. There is high desperation from the youth due to lack of employment.”

The June 23 historic presidential re-run follows the country’s Constitutional Court decision to overturn last year’s Presidential election that saw President Peter Mutharika re-elected with a narrow margin.

Citing "grave" and "widespread" irregularities, the court ruled in February that President Mutharika had not been duly elected, and mandated a new poll within 150 days.

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Malawi’s Electoral Commission (MEC) declared Mr. Mutharika, leader of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), winner in the May 2019 polls with 38.57 percent of the vote against the leader of Malawi Congress Party (MCP), Lazarus Chakwera who garnered 35.41 percent. The country’s former Vice President Saulos Chilima of the United Transformation Movement (UTM) had 20.24 percent of the votes.

Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and the United Transformation Movement (UTM) filed their election petition  August 8, 2019 on grounds of fraud during the poll.

Anti-government protests were witnessed in various parts of the country on regular basis, cases of looting and property destruction characterizing some of the demonstrations. Government offices were targeted; a police officer and a civilian lost their lives during the protests, it was reported.

The electoral commission announced in March that the vote will be held on July 2 but opposition legislators passed a resolution in parliament setting June 23 as the election date.

According to Bishop Mtumbuka, “The continued waves of post elections violence emanated from tormented people inflicted with numerous problems brought about by poor leadership.”

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“A number of mob justice cases registered in December that included five people brutally killed on a single day at Lupembe and to date nobody has been arrested is a clear indication that there is no rule of law,” the Local Ordinary of Karonga Diocese said.

For this reason, the Malawian Prelate who has been a Bishop since June 2010 said the country needs “an altruistic leader to fix the socio-economic afflictions that range from nepotism, tribalism, corruption, abuse of public resources, high levels of unemployment rate and poverty and the ballot is the only solution.”

“The onus is yours, if you see there is no problem there then stoop so low and vote otherwise,” the Bishop said and continued, “It is high time Malawians developed an insatiable desire for change when things are getting out of hand.”

He clarified that he was only seeking to guide eligible voters and that candidates have spread their manifestos. Voters have the duty to make informed decisions that will bring about change for the future generation, Bishop Mtumbuka said, calling on election stakeholders to conduct credible, free, fair and peaceful elections for the development of the country.

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.