Flash red card! PAC demos to be in red: Dec 13 protests to also focus on Malawi socio-economic woes
Public Affairs Committee (PAC) has said they have picked the colour red to be used for the planned December 13 demonstrations to push for the tabling of the the Electoral Reforms Bills which include adoption of a 50-plus-one system of choosing the country’s President to enhance credibility.
However, he influential multi-faith quasi-religious human rights, democracy and accountability watchdog has disclosed that the protests will not only focus on Electoral Reforms but various issues bordering on transformative leadership.
Pac Executive Director, Robert Phiri, has said they will also present a petition to government expressing its position on the current state of affairs.
“The main message will still focus on reform. However, placards will reflect on various issues bordering on transformational leadership as a gap, given that commitments made by the country’s leadership will not have been met by December 13 2017,” Phiri said.
“We have identified the colour red as that to be worn on this particular day by the marchers,”
He said those who do not have red colours will still take part.
Over 60 civil society (CSOs) are said to back the protests and some citizens will march waving red cards — the football penalty symbol for expulsion to undemocratic tendencies.
PAC boss clearly stated that the protestors are not driven by political ends but “the common good.”
The governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has been spreading propaganda that the protests are influenced by the opposition for their own political gains.
But Phiri said: “No political party can influence PAC.”
Phiri indicated that the PAC board had agreed to proposals to have the marches held in all the country’s 28 districts. The body had initially announced that the marches would only take place in Blantyre, Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Zomba.
He also said the matter was not only about the electoral reforms, but the inclusion of 50 percent-plus-one as it was one of the benchmarks.
Said Phiri: “We are looking at reforms as a package.”
Government has since circulated three out of six bills for the electoral refoms. The three are Electoral Commission Act (Amendment) Bill , Assumption of the Office of President (Transitional Arrangement) and Referendum Bill.
The Law Commission recommended the following Bills collectively called Electoral Reforms Bills: Constitution (Amendment), Electoral Commission (Amendment), Presidential and Parliamentary Elections Act (PPEA) and Local Government Elections Act, Assumption of the Office of President (Transitional Arrangement) and Referendum.
The most contentious of the Bills relate to the amendment of Section 80 (2) of the Constitution and Section 96 (5) of the PPE Act to provide for a change of the electoral system from a simple majority to a majority of more than 50 percent in the presidential race.
The Electoral Commission (Amendment) Bill as proposed by the Special Law Commission recommends the enactment of the Elections Management Fund to ensure Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) is financially autonomous.
It also proposes changes in the appointment of the MEC chairperson as well as composition of the commissioners.
The Referendum Bill, on the other hand, aims to introduce legislation on how to conduct a referendum as one does not exist currently.
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Whether you defend him or not, many people, including the less civilised, know that this Mutharika is the dumbest president ever. The erectoral reforms are for a better Malawi. Not DPP or MCP or any other party. I strongly believe that DPP is afraid of MCP.
To all DPP die-hards who hate the 13 Dec demo, the electoral reform bill is for the benefit of the larger Malawi population and not MCP or the opposition.
The winner is the ordinary person. While the loser are political thieves who easily rig elections and force themselves on Malawians
Why is it that demos will be conducted in towns only? Don’t we have the 80% of voters in the village who should also express their views through perete? Is it because PAC knows that to a villager he sees idiocy in this because there was no civic education to a villager for him to make a thorough decision. The nerves in opposition blood will one day burst because they will make many demos resulting in HBP. At the end of it all the power will be still in DPP come what may. MCP has no numbers, and this is… Read more »
Mr Martin, I wished you visit a medical doctor to remove mucous which has surrounded your medulla oblongata making you fail to see things positively. The only opposition party which is expected by the opposition members to win in 2019 is MCP. Tell me Morgan which districts in the south has MCP penetrated and convinced people there that they will vote for Chakwera? You are always taking the by-election as a measure that Chakwera can win the presidency? MCP won Nsanje Lalanje by-election through Simeon Khamfula. It won another by-election in Mzimba, and some in the central region. Did it… Read more »
Very good fiction you have presented here. Reality on the ground awaits you. MCP is better and sharper than ever before. The times you talk of MCP MPs are different. It was during UDF and UDF was the only strong party in the south. The party provided hope to Malawians. Electricity was there. Water was available. President was an orator and proactive. Aford was strong. There were no new voters who have not seen MCP in power. There has not been any embarrassment of by elections by a ruling party. No maize gates. No cashgate. No tractor gate. No passport… Read more »
We in the DPP are very afraid now. A opposition mwationjeza. Kumabisalira kumsana kwa PAC eti? Tiona. Tomorrow the sun will rise again. We will sort you out in due season. Don’t you know it’s hard to approve things in parliament which will affect our cash flow? Tikakudyerani kuti? We will fight tooth and nail to thwart the remaining bills. It’s core to our survival and the very existence of our party DPP. No one can espouse democracy when it will be for the good of the majority but at the expense of we the few elites. This is quiet… Read more »
I invite you Mr president to be reading my comments osati za Santana. If you won by 34%,ur approval rating is below 20%. Mr president,how could u dream of stopping demos thru confront ations? There is tsunami coming bwana and dausi employs a strategy which is 25 years old. Grace wakwiyitsa anthu.nankhumwa please help the president.u are calm when handling issues. Look at the issue with sober mind.
Lets show him Red, wationjeza ndi nkhakamila zake zopanda pakezi.
Its a red card to peter muthalika and his cronies. This is a vote of no confidence, after this march we will call for an early presidential election
At the end of the demos I will tune to all the radios to hear if the results of the demos will be the tabling and passing of the bill. The opposition is buying guns to shoot themselves because the 50+1 will not take Chakwera to Sanjika as he is myopically thinking. He has no backing of the whole opposition for him to win after a re-run. If only with the backing of UDF in a re-run APM will carry the day what more with PP southern region members? Chakwera has know numbers to make him win the elections. Ameneyu… Read more »
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Nanga akuyiopera pati 50+1 if all odds favour DPP. Maybe akuona patali than inuyo a Santana.
I’ve been following you Santana for sometime and thought you got some sense but you’re the most stupid headless chicken i mistakingly took for a human. Before the by-elections you swore on your life as well as on the lives of all of us who read your rubbish that MCP would never win not even one constituency in the south especially Nsanje-lalanje. When mcp won everything but one, you disappeared and that prompted many to ask ” where’s Santana? “, as if you would come for a gentleman and admit you were wrong on that one as you always do… Read more »
Santana you are a big fool
The Church has spoken and we are ready to demonstrate come 13th December. Government is trying to play hide and seek game by bringing on 3 bills in Parliament yet we know that electoral reform bills are a package of 6 bills.