Robson Chirwa whips up women's interest in politics

Veteran politician, Robson Chirwa, said this in Mzuzu amid widespread reports that some political parties in the country are reluctant to hold primary elections in different constituencies in a bid to shield sitting Members of Parliament (MPs).

He urged all women willing to contest in the polls to confidently start campaigning in their communities now if Malawi is to achieve the much talked about 30 percent women representation in higher decision making positions.

Chirwa called on all Malawian women to support fellow female contestants during the 2009 polls if Malawi is to have a considerable female representation in parliament.

Chirwa held several ministerial positions in the former MCP-led government and was once a Malawian Minister responsible for the Organisation of African Unity (OAU)

Meanwhile, NGO Gender Network says it will start meeting women aspirants across the country to strategize on the ambitious plan to have a representation of more than 40 percent in Parliament during next year's general elections.

Chairperson for the network, Emma Kaliya, said they would ensure that women occupy more than 40 percent of the seats of the National Assembly.

Some political parties are on record as saying that Malawi would not achieve a SADC requirement of 30 percent women representation in high decision-making positions due to, among other things, violence and electoral law systems.

Currently, the country has a 14.4 percent representation of women in the National Assembly.

Main opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have said they will not hold primaries in constituencies where they already have

Parliamentary representation, while the United Democratic Front (UDF) says it will hold primaries in all 193 constituencies.