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

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.