Peter, Atupele for vote on gays

Two presidential candidates in the 2014 Tripartite Elections say they will call for a referendum to put the issue of homosexuality to bed should they win the polls.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) president Peter Mutharika and United Democratic Front (UDF) president Atupele Muluzi said in separate interviews last week that the issue is so divisive and emotive that the only way out is to let Malawians vote in a referendum.

On their part, the People’s Party (PP) and the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) only said Malawians are best placed to decide the way forward on the issue. They could not indicate how they seek to deal with the matter.

Atupele said homosexuality is a difficult issue that cannot be left to an individual to decide and resolve.

“My position is that Malawians must decide through a referendum. It is a very tough subject matter,” he said.

Mutharika also said homosexuality is a complex issue that all Malawians should decide through a vote.

Said Mutharika: “When voted into power, the DPP government will call for a referendum on the issue so that people can make a decision on this.

“As you know, this approach is common in many countries when an issue of national importance is involved.”

The two candidates’ positions raises questions about how far the principle of majority rule can operate in the context of another democratic pillar of respect for minority rights.

The question is: If the majority decides through a referendum to maintain the status quo which makes it criminal to engage in homosexual activities, what happens to the right of gays to be what they are or want to be, especially when the Constitution prohibits discrimination on account of sexual orientation?

MCP president the Reverend Lazarus Chakwera said even in established democracies such as the USA, Britain and France, homosexuality has been a divisive issue that has sometimes generated violence.

“In fact, some states in the United States of America are yet to legalise homosexuality.

“In this sense, the issue of homosexuality shall be determined by the people of Malawi through the exercise of their rights to self-determination,” said Chakwera.

Since the traditional engagement, arrest, conviction and pardon of Steve Monjeza and Tionge Chimbalanga in 2011, homosexuality has dominated public discourse in Malawi.

While opinion is skewed in favour of maintaining the law that criminalises same-sex relationships, donors have been pushing the country to scrap the law and decriminalise homosexuality.

In 2011, British Prime Minister David Cameron warned that his country would slash aid to African countries with poor records on minority rights.

Since ascending to power in April 2012, President Joyce Banda has been ambivalent about on the issue. So far, she is on record that she will leave the matter in the hands of Parliament to decide at an opportune time.

Minister of Justice Ralph Kasambara said at a debate in Lilongwe in 2012 that government had placed a moratorium on gay laws, effectively suspending them.

In an interview on Wednesday, PP secretary general Paul Maulidi said the issue is not on the party’s agenda ahead of the 2014 elections.

Some experts contend that the Penal Code, which criminalises homosexual acts, is in conflict with sections 12 and 20 of the Constitution which make it illegal to discriminate against people on account of religion and sexual orientation, among other reasons.

Minority rights activist Gift Trapence of the Centre for Development of People (Cedep) argued on Wednesday that it is wrong and unheard of for a nation to float an issue that is protected by the Constitution for a referendum.

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