church leaders during the meeting
By Emmie Banda, MEC Stringer
After 25 years of multiparty democracy Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM) says Malawi needs to cerebrate its silver Jubilee after 21st May.
EAM advocacy Coordinator Matchona Phiri said this in Mchinji during a meeting with church leaders with an aim of imparting knowledge about election in preparation of the forth coming tripartite elections.
Phiri said through its project of encouraging citizen participation and enhancing policy engagement between rights holders and duty bearers which they are implementing in the district thought of meeting the church leaders to see how as a church they can participate in the forth coming tripartite elections.
He said it is unfortunate to see that churches are said to be mixing politics with religious yet they are not.
“our duty is to preserve the will which is right and just according to the scripture and we also appreciate the values of democracy but when churches want to say something especially advising on issues of politics they are said that they are losing track yet its aim is to advise and direct the politicians a way to go,”said Phiri.
He said Malawi as a country should be happy that it has clocked 25 years in multiparty democracy without any war.
“remember that we have managed to change four governments with four presidents peacefully, survived the death of a sitting president which is not easy, and also having a female head of state in the 25 years, but nothing is being said or done about this,we have to know that this is an achievement, but while we are to celebrate this we also have to see if we have done what we were supposed to do in the 25 years of multiparty democracy,” said Phiri.
He added that the killings of people with albinism is not supposed to be happening in a country which has clocked 25 years of multiparty democracy.
“let us look on things which we are not supposed to be doing in these 25 years of democracy, and see what we are supposed to be doing, stop the killings of people with albinism ,let political parties practice issue based campaign and avoid using youths in negative ways and make sure that we have peaceful credible and fair elections come 21st May,”added Phiri.
He further said Malawi should ask itself why as a country has failed to recognize and celebrate the 25 years of multiparty democracy.
Among other groups EAM met with village development committee VDC, area development committee ADC together with political aspirants to give them an opportunity to hear the kind of development that they want from their duty bearers and at the end of the meeting the to two sides signed social contracts forms.
Phiri therefore urged all the participants to share the knowledge with their subjects so that they can take part in the forth coming elections.
during the meeting the districts elections clerk Matola Kazembe oriented the church leaders among others the duties of elections monitors.
