Malawi’s ruling PP says no ‘sacred cows’ during primaries
Ruling People’s Party (PP) says it will see to it that transparency prevails during its primary elections to be held in all the country’s constituencies before the end of this year, saying incumbent lawmakers will all face challenge.
PP deputy secretary general George Zulu said during a rally at Chatoloma in Kasungu that ‘classism’ will be brushed aside so that people in the grassroots choose representatives of their choice.
“We don’t want people to win because they’re sitting Members of Parliament (MPs). We want people in their respective areas to have their choices because PP belongs to them,” said Zulu.
He added that officials at regional level will be barred from taking leading roles in the primaries slated before31 December, 2013.
“We’re ready to hold primaries in all the 193 constituencies in the country,” he added.
The party, led by President Joyce Banda, will participate in its first elections in next year’s tripartite elections.
This week, the party was under attack from critics for saying though its secretary-general Henry Chibwana that “Malawi would be better off as a one-party state.”
The remarks have seen been disowned by publicists.
Zulu said for all Malawians to fully participate in democracy, there is need for them to register for the coming elections.
“Every Malawian citizen has the right to vote as long as they are of the right age but it will not happen unless you get registered to vote,” he said.
He said for Malawi to develop there is need for everyone to participate in the voting exercise so that they can choose the party that they want to run the government.
He advised party leaders to alert local leaders when planning for development meetings and projects.
Zulu also advised all traditional leaders to be fair during the 2013/14 Farm Input Subsidy Program registration exercise that will also start later this year.
He said government has put in place strong measures to make sure that there will be no corruption and hassles in accessing farm inputs.
