Mzimba South district gender officer Naomi Mwale has asked voters in Traditional Authority Kampingo Sibande to avoid being influenced by handouts and vote for capable candidates, including women, youths and people with disabilities.
She said this on Tuesday during a voter awareness campaign and debate that Women’s Legal Resource Centre (Wolrec) and Oxfam in Malawi organised with funding from the European Union.
Mwale said for many years, people have tended to vote based on short-term handouts rather than long-term developmental needs of their areas.
She said: “We are running a campaign to mobilise votes for women, youths and people with disabilities. In 2019, Mzimba only had two female councillors out of 22 and two female legislators out of 11.
“Through Promoting Gender Transformative and Youth Inclusive Democracy Project, we appeal to you to vote for capable women, youths and people with disabilities to balance the numbers.”
Mwale said Mzimba has historically performed poorly in electing women and young leaders and this campaign seeks to change that.
M’Mbelwa Youth Network District chairperson Anthony Botha also urged young people to vote for fellow youths, arguing that youth representatives can better understand their peers’ needs.
