Regional elections observer group tips Malawian CSOs on how to mitigate violence ahead of Sept 16 General Elections

Electoral Support Network of Southern Africa (ESN-SA) – a regional elections observer group – has has tipped local civil society organizations (CSOs) in Malawi to take precautionary measures in preventing and mitigating electoral-related conflicts ahead of the September 16 General Elections.

ESN-SA Director for Elections, Rindai Chipfunde-Vava, warned that Malawians should expect political temperatures to rise even higher after the announcement of the official launch of the campaign by the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC).

Chipfunde-Vava made the remarks on the sidelines of the training of trainers for election observers. Participants were drawn from the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) and Malawi Electoral Support Network (MESN).

“As you are aware, most of the elections are now associated with conflicts, and when elections around the corner, we realize the temperatures go up. So it’s important to prevent conflicts before they become full fledged violence. So we’re giving skills to locals so that they can cascade in terms of conflict management skills throughout the country, targeting particularly hot spots,” she said.

“What we’ve seen recently is that elections are very competitive. Elections are both political and technical. So what we’ve seen is that the trend is now that elections are associated with loss of electoral related violence, and so it is important that it becomes a component in terms of election preparations, and that needs to be taken care of. As you know, conflict is inevitable, but what is important is how we manage them,” added Chipfunde-Vava.

And speaking on Friday at the close of the four-day training workshop, CCJP Programs Officer, Golie Khonje, emphasized the urgent need for increased advocacy on peace and unity to ensure free, fair, and credible elections in Malawi and the organization says the country still lacks adequate measures to prevent violence and address long-standing electoral challenges.

Khonje highlighted that promoting peace and unity is central to ensuring violence-free elections.

“We want people to understand the importance of peaceful coexistence, especially during elections. There’s also a plan to involve security institutions such as the Malawi Police Service and Malawi Defence Force to further strengthen peace efforts,” she said.

Fletcher Mbewe, Acting Archdiocesan Coordinator for the Lilongwe Archdiocese, described the training as a turning point in changing public attitudes and reshaping Malawi’s electoral environment.

He emphasized the significance of civic education and mindset change to ensure violence-free electoral processes.

Mbewe also disclosed plans to roll out a new initiative titled “Strengthening Electoral Integrity in Africa,” which will be implemented by CCJP in collaboration with other stakeholders.

“It is our responsibility to guard this initiative and continue advocating for unity and justice,” he said, urging NGOs to remain nonpartisan and serve Malawians with integrity.

The training was organized by the Electoral Support Network of Southern Africa (ESN-SA) and AHEAD, with support from the European Union, and participation from key partners including UNDP, the Malawi Electoral Support Network (MESN), and the Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD).

Over the four days, participants among them CCJP teams were equipped with knowledge and skills in managing electoral-related conflicts and the training also included Training of Trainers on Preventing Electoral Violence (PEV) and Civic and Voter Education, ahead of Malawi’s September 16th General Elections.

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