An Observer’s perspective: Before, during and soon after May 2014

Tripartite Elections

This presentation is one of the many that can be produced to provide a general overview of the tripartite elections processes .

It is therefore limited in scope and is not exhaustive. But it is setting the pace for the subsequent presentations in this conference

However, it emanates from observations made on the hard core features of Malawian politics and subsequent electoral processes.

For the conference to understand the political dynamics, it is critical to link the politics of today with the socio-economic issues affecting Malawi.

Further, we can not talk of political developments minus their passive and active actors i.e. political parties and candidates, CSOs, Faith, Traditional and Opinion leaders not overlooking the general citizenry.

Politicians have spun the wheels of misfortune for this country since yester years whilst, Malawians as citizens have passively or in other occasions- actively but wrongly participating in the polity.

Politicians have been revered, respected, adhored sometimes to the detriment of Malawian citizens’ authentic engagement with their leaders.

This has limited spaces of honest engagement, responsiveness, vertical and horizontal accountability not overlooking genuine representation.

No wonder therefore, Malawi has been reduced to a “complaining nation” time after time, administration after administration, generation after generation.

No wonder, political leaders choose who it to lead next after them making the people/ followers not to have any choice.

Evidently, party conventions as evidently seen in this recent past, are often times rites of passages rubberstamping a choice already made in some other higher places.

Primary elections are creating more “independent” MPs and are increasingly becoming marred with political violence showing lack of intra-party democracy.

Sadly, the quest of national identity, national meaning and national sovereignty is diminishing.

When four main political parties in Malawi seek state powers, they create political plate tectonics splitting mother Malawi into four voting blocks.

Resultantly, creating a political context of mistrust, political relativism, bigotry and national disintegration .

The failure of main political parties to strike electoral alliances before May 20, was largely based on this understanding above.

The four main political parties- UDF, DPP, MCP and PP, were overconfident to winning the elections hence they could not strike any electoral alliance.

However, this was against some popular expectations from some citizens, it was also against some well researched findings.

Overconfidence sometimes leads to underestimation, under-planning and over-assumptions that later lead to denial of results.

The micro economic indicators were slumping. CCJP and NDI research, among many others had shown clearly that people are being hit hard with financial woes, the power of the Kwacha left citizens helpless.

With cash-gate and Jet-gate in the milieu, frustrations and anger were getting heightened.

The social service delivery system had collapsed like in Health- with shortage of drugs and congestion in public health facilities becoming dominant.

Suspected thieves increasingly have been torched to death just like over 15 police units have been torched down by irate citizens who are largely becoming impatient with inefficiencies from police.

Some politicians and their cohorts were seemingly getting richer than the rest consolidating the two-tier Malawian society, with the poor getting angrier.

The cash-gate scandal is a mirror of a get-rich-quick syndrome that has gripped the psychic of Malawian society taking away important values of hardworking, social concern, solidarity, honesty an patriotism.

Resultantly, a free for all looting became inevitable, the winner takes it all approach became entrenched.

Yet, government funding shrunk drastically and civil servants salaries become a burden for government to honor timely.

The state efforts at improving peoples livelihoods were seen by many as mere ploy to consolidate dependency syndrome .e.g. One cow- one family, parallel fertilizer subsidy project, Mudzi transformation trust etc.

A divided nation in evaluating and appreciating these state efforts emerged; others believing the state was trying its best whilst others saying the state was largely clueless, had no vision. This affected how CSOs, FBOs, Traditional leaders reflected upon the contemporary Malawi.

Malawi was emerging into an inherently self-contradicting, inconsistent and un agreeing nation.

Malawi went into preparations for tripartite elections. With shortage of personnel and equipment MEC had

to stagger the voter registration process in 10 phases. Complaints of faulty equipment and unmotivated

personnel were many in turn pressure for MEC to reopen some preceding registration centers mounted.

MEC claimed to have registered 7,543,000 voters in total.

There was no consensus as to the possibility of this final figure hence it remained contested till the polling day.

7,543,000 was seen as covering half of the population which could not be of voting age.

The North had 1.1 million registered voters, the Centre had 3.1million registered voters and the south had 3.4 million registered voters

The voter verification exercise was lowly patronized due to poor publicity by MEC on the exercise though the figures later dropped from 7, 537, 548 to 7,470, 806 million

The voters’ roll was not yet popularized and was largely non available in most of the polling stations and in others, it came very late.

Over 132 CSOs, FBOs and CBOs were accredited by MEC to provide civic and voter education but less than 20 had accessed funding due to strange and unprecedented arrangements from cooperating partners.

Those that has funding had tough disbursement processes rendering their interventions slow and irrelevant to the electoral calendar.

The CVE interventions this elections, therefore have been largely cosmetic and poor whilst few FBOs like PAC, CCJP and NICE have at least tried

Continued dominance of a party in government on public media.

Strangely these elections , according to MACRA reports, PP had dominance even on private media houses.

Stories of voter ID cards getting sold and bought increased.

Stories of rigging- at that time by PP got hyped though with no tangible evidence, but became a source of worry, mistrust.

MEC proactively engaged government on opening up MBC with some positive results towards the end.

The social media is emerging to be an elite platform but highly vulgar, abusive, divisive and in part, immoral.

Abuse of state resources was rampant- political rallies dubbed developmental rallies.

Increased ditching out of hand outs was noted. Political violence in Karonga central, Goliati in

Thyolo and in Mangochi and Blantyre was noted.

Commitment to peace by political leaders through PAC was a positive intervention.

Denouncing of violence by political players, faith leaders and CSO leaders was having a direct impact.

Sadly though some chiefs and faith leaders abused their authority in endorsing certain presidential candidates.

For the first time, civic education and campaign was dubbed “issue-based” with debates at presidential, parliamentary and ward levels.

The talk for transformative leadership and Malawi rediscovering its destiny after 50 years of independence and 20 years of democracy become heightened.

Regardless of shortfalls here and there, this is a marked departure from usual tribal, regionalistic and personal political tactics. It must be encouraged- its fruits are far enriching than divisive politics.

Fully nominated MPs for political parties Northern Region DPP 31 out of 33 MCP 28 out of 33 UDF 27 out of 33 PP 33 out of 33 NARC-7, NASAF-4, PDM-1, PPM-6, AFORD-

9,PETRA-3, UIP-3, INDEPENDENTS-52

CENTRAL REGION- 73 DPP- 70 out of 73 MCP- 72 out of 73 UDF- 69 out of 73 AfORD-3 out of 73 PP- 73 out of 73 NASAF-8 out of 73, PPM-15, UIP-6, NCP-4,

UIP-5, PETRA-1 INDEPENDENTS- 137

SOUTHERN REGION- 87 TOTAL DPP-86 MCP-56 UDF- 85 PP- 86 PPM-26 NASAF-11, MAFUNDE-4, UIP-8, CCP-3,

PETRA-2, NLP-3 INDEPENDENTS- 232

OUT OF 193 PARLIAMENTARY SEATS DPP- 187 LESS BY 6 MCP-159 LESS BY 34 UDF-181 LESS BY 12 PP-192 LESS BY 1 INDEPENDENTS- 421 PRESIDENTS- 12

AFORD-1 CCP-1 DPP-50 MCP-48 PP-26 UDF-14 INDEPENDENTS-52 FEMALES-30 MALES-162

TOTAL POLLING STATIONS- 4,445 99% Polled on 20th May 46 polling stations representing 1% of the

total polled on 21st and 22nd May. Due to logistical challenges I.E. shortage of ballot papers and transport.

5, 288,258 voted representing 70.78% 56,675 votes representing 1.07% were

declared null and void 76,692 votes from 65 cases from 58 polling

stations were quarantined for irregularities. These became a source of MEC division, national tension and heightened polarization.

Prof Peter Mutharika- 1,904,399- 36.4% Dr. Lazurus Chakwera- 1,455,880- 27.8% Dr. Joyce Banda- 1,056236- 20.2% Atulepe Muluzi-717224-13.7% Chibambo,Mark Katsonga, Prof John Chisi,

Nnesa, Nyondo, Hellen Singh, Jumbe, Davies Katsonga. Shared the remaining percentage in the descending order.

NOTE: 2,182,548 did not vote though they registered.

Parallel Tally centres by CSOs like MESN, CCJP and NICE- with projects similar to MEC results

Political party tally centres with results not made public but still used to dispute MEC results.

MESN using 800 polling stations sample had :

DPP-32.7-39.3; UDF-11.9-15.5; MCP-25.1-31.7;PP-18.2-21.8 Results ranges

MEC was overstretched personnel and resource wise hence huge logistical challenges, first time holding tripartite elections hence no one imagined the mammoth task.

MEC secretariat staff were in need of quality control or assurance mechanisms.

MEC was mistrusted from the beginning of the electoral calendar.

MEC’s commissioners had serous partisan positions mirroring the general mood of the Malawian society before, during and after the polls.

Rigging allegations had created a bad mood for the electoral processes, some with outrageous rigging stories.

NECOF meetings though important were sometimes trivialized by political parties.

Political parties monitors were less competent to deal with polling issues due to poor remuneration.

Only CCJP, NICE, PAC and MESN had deployed domestic observers

International observers were almost everywhere in polling stations.

The elections were not rigged by any political party as evidence from CSOs attests.

Irregularities were there but there were explainable and correctable though at the same time insignificant to change the outcome of results.

Rigging perceptions coupled with irregularities worsened with delayed and extended polling were a recipe for non acceptability of poll results.

The nation has come out bruised and fragmented.

Of course with 12 presidential candidates- minority votes were for sure to take a winner to the state powers.

The challenges of elections notwithstanding, the reforms we need are more than legal. They are political and cultural including religious.

The “winner takes it all” wont be a way forward. Building bridges of peace and integration is critical

for all political players ruling and opposition. Taking the battle of politics from MEC to Parliament

will be a worst scenerio like of 2004 to 2009 parliament. We need to learn from this recent history.

The “complaining alliance” of MCP, UDF and PP could be a sad development of politics of retribution yet we all call for transformative leadership not only in government but also in opposition parties.

All stakeholders must work for peace and national building and politicians must not be trusted as only engineers of this.

There was equal paralysis of analysis from CSOs, FBOs, political party leaders and some politicians sought to benefit from the confusion.

The judiciary has always come in to give sanity to passionately held “political truths”.

Evidence from various research findings like CCJP/NDI- 2014, AFROBAROMETER- 2014 were ignored or hidden to the disadvantage of the electoral process.

Political parties ignore demographic figures as they plan and work on so much public perceptions anchored by weak political scientists analysis that are oftentimes detached from the ground realities. Registered figures attest.

Continued claims of rigging from 1999 hinders other political parties from genuinely learning what stops them from attaining maximum votes.