Participation
A rapid appraisal of the factors influencing the right to vote in parliamentary elections in Malawi
What influences people's voting behaviour in Malawi?
Authors:
N. Lawton
Publisher:
Centre for Social Research, University of Malawi, 2003
Malawi became a sovereign state on July 6th 1964. Its first president was Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda, who ruled the country from independence until May 1994. Under Dr. Banda the only political party allowed to operate legally was the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), of which he himself was president. Moreover, no dissent or opposition of any kind was allowed in the country. This authoritarian MCP rule culminated into granting the life presidency to Dr. Banda, which he assumed in 1966 .However, between 1992 and 1994 Malawi underwent a radical political transition that brought an end to the one party authoritarian MCP regime. The main thrust of this report is to present an appraisal of why people voted for the candidates that they did in parliamentary elections in Malawi.
It has been noted, in this study, that there was little change in this respect between the 1994 and 1999 parliamentary elections. In both elections respondents indicated that the nature of the campaign, the character of the candidate, and the party that the candidate represented were the main factors which motivated then to vote in the way they did.
The study recommends that:
- it is vital that political leaders, the police, church leaders and leaders of civil society come together and publicly condemn all forms of political violence in the run up to the 2004 campaign and subsequent elections and that the police take an active and non-partisan role in bring those responsible to task, regardless of their political affiliation
- the national radio, MBC, should be deployed equitably to complement the role played by civic and voter education actors in disseminating information among Malawians about the tripartite elections and the democratization process in the country
- the practicalities and logistics of running the 2004 elections need proper consideration so the difficulties experienced in registration in 1994 and 1999 are not repeated
- above all other considerations, it is crucial that the political debates and competition for votes takes place in an atmosphere of rule of law, freedom, fairness, peace, equity and tolerance in 2004.
