Police calls for political tolerance to ensure peaceful campaign for 2019 polls
Malawi Police in the Northern Region have called for a spirit of tolerance from members of the public towards people of different parties in order to maintain peace during the forthcoming campaign period ahead of the 2019 Tripartite Elections.
Police and NICE as Deputy Commissioner of Police Lovemore Mwabumba (Left) looks on and NICE ‘s Vincent Kalawa (Right) assists
Northern Region Commissioner of Police Effie Kaitano made the remarks at Police Headquaters in Mzuzu on Wednesday after the launch of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Police in the Northern Region and the National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE ) Trust.
“We are appealing to members of the public to ensure that they have the spirit of tolerance in times of misunderstanding to maintain peace especially during the campaign period,” said Kaitano.
According to the Commissioner of Police, the partnership with NICE is one way of cementing ties with the Trust to effectively ensure that the different stakeholders are sensitized on their role in promoting a peaceful coexistence during the entire electoral cycle of the 2019 Tripartite Elections.
“As the Police we ensure that we encourage a mature partnerships with members of the community and continue to encourage the different stakeholders to ensure that there is peace. We have to maintain the peace during the Tripartite elections, before the Elections and after the Elections,” said Kaitano.
NICE Trust Northern Region Civic Education Officer Vincent Kalawa explained that inline with the activities in the MOU, NICE and Police will collaboratively take violence prevention messages to violence hotspot areas in the Region.
“We will visit the hotspots that are prone to violence. We will also interact with the most vulnerable in society such as those with disabilities and women. We would like to engage the Police Service to sensitize the public to know that they have a role in promoting peace before even the Police arrive on the scene,” Kalawa said.
The three-year MOU between NICE and Malawi Police Service in the Northern Region is a continuation of a partnership that started in 2014 tripartite election’s period. The Agreement outlines activities including; sensitization meetings aimed at promoting a peaceful pre and post-election period in the North. Meanwhile other parts of the country such as Mangochi have already started registering incidences of politically –motivated violence.
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