Irate Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on Tuesday asked opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) to boycott Parliament session, which is expected to start on Friday, 10th November, 2017 until Government includes ElectoralReforms Bill is on the Parliamentary agenda list.
Among the concerned CSOs include Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) and Centre for the Development of People (CEDEP).
Speaking to the media in Lilongwe, CHRR boss Timothy Mtambo said that the exclusion of electoral reform bills is a sign that government is betraying Malawians.
According to Mtambo, the absence of the bills on the initial list of bills to be tabled in the august House is simply a sign that the reforms are not a priority to the government.
In his remarks, CEDEP executive director Gift Trapence faulted government’s claims that the cabinet is still scrutinizing the bills saying that this explanation is just an excuse to further delay it.
“We are not at all satisfied with the explanation given by the leader of the house, Kondwani Nankhumwa, that government has not presented the Electoral Reforms Bills to Parliament because cabinet is still scrutinizing the bills.
“This explanation is simply an excuse by the government to further delay the electoral reforms that Malawi badly need. Malawians are keen to see the passing of 50+1 electoral system so that national leaders should be elected by the majority,” they said.
The concerned CSOs said that Malawians need the bill to be passed by Parliament so that 50+1 system of electing president can be used in 2019 tripartite elections but with how the current government handles sensitive laws, probability of the bill hitting a snag, is high.
“Looking at how the current government has behaved in the past over laws that seem to threaten their existence, we suspect that this is yet another calculated move by those in power to delay the electoral reform process.
“We have every reason to be suspicious because it is clear that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has not been in favour of this bill right from the start and is clearly seeking ways to further delay it,” they added.
The CSOs have then urged MPs to boycott the parliamentary deliberations until when the electoral reforms bills have been included on the parliamentary agenda.
The organisations say failure of the opposition MPs to do so will mean that they are an ally of government to compromise laws for their own benefits.
However, Minister Nankhumwa has asked the CSOs to be calm saying government is also in support of the bill.
Leader of opposition in the Parliament, who is also President of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), Dr Lazarus Chakwera, is yet to issue a comment on the matter.
CSOs and other stakeholders are pushing for electoral reforms that will see the head of the state winning the elections with 50+1 percent of all votes. According to some quarters, the new system will ensure that the president is elected by the majority of Malawians.