Biblically, the church constitutes people who share common doctrines and religious values.
These people are governed by their ordained leaders who are like captains of the ship or custodians of the shared values.
Based on this definition and consensus, religious leaders ought to understand the political landscape in which they operate.
As Malawi counts down to the September 16 General Election, these religious shepherds are supposed to play the following roles to uphold democratic values.
Faith leaders are supposed to preach peace among the voters, candidates and other political players to spearhead free, accessible and fair democratic elections that everyone can trust.
However, they should desist from aligning themselves to a particular political party due to monetary or material gains at the expense of their followers and voters.
Democratic principles require them to be non-partisan referees of political players, providing messages of hope and peace during elections.
For the benefit of ordinary Malawians, religious leaders and groups should denounce violent conduct by politicians and their loyalists.
They should speak against undemocratic tendencies without fear or favour.
These leaders should demonstrate objectivity when dealing with politicians and their followers, especially the youth who are the leaders of today and tomorrow
Malawians, who trust religious leaders, take their word as gospel truth.
However, the citizenry has been deceived for a long time. Now, they have hopes in their religious leaders and institutions—a call for the clergy to always be honest in dealing with political players.
Religious leaders need to be guided by their scriptures. The faithful believe that the religious leaders’ voice should be respected by all political players for the sake of peace and credible elections.
In fact, religious leaders and institutions should always preach accountability and transparency when dealing with political leaders and their organisation in the run-up to the forthcoming elections.
Malawians of goodwill expect to see religious leaders providing meaningful civic and voter education to help their faithful make informed choices in the polling booths.
Religious leaders should also pray for violence-free elections and denounce all forms of violence and malpractices likely to disadvantage the electorate, especially marginalised groups.
They should foster peace and tranquility in elections.
The clerics should always preach against the evils of corrupt practices during elections and these include handouts or unwarranted gifts.
Bribing voters is evil. Bribery, often sanitised as handouts, distort voters’ minds to sell their political suffrage and elect bad leaders against their will. This hurts democracy and its principles.
As such, religious leaders should play a watchdog role in the face of political evils orchestrated by politicians and their parasitic loyalists.
Free, fair and credible elections are a strong pillar of democracy. Therefore, men and women of God should mainstream democratic values in their religious teachings to contribute to trustworthy general elections.
Religious institutions should create a favourable environment for peaceful co-existence among political players and their followers.
Instead of taking sides, they should demonstrate mature, objective and non-partisan philosophies in their dealings with politicians and their political agenda.
They should bring hope to hopeless Malawians who are grappling with the current economic hardship which may lead them to boycott the forthcoming general election.
These leaders should always strive to avert voter apathy in this year’s elections through value-based civic education messages that inspire the hopeless to cast their votes.
In 1993, Malawians elected multiparty politics where every eligible person had a right to vote and hold a political ideology. A good shepherd respects political plurality and diversity.
Let us all work towards making Malawi a better country for all.
