Legal experts and governance institutions have punched holes into draft regulations to govern the prohibition of handouts under the Political Parties Act (PPA) of 2018, calling for their revision before they tabled in Parliament.
Among others, they state that the regulations lack a clearer explanation of handouts as defined in the PPA and do not have strong enforcement tools.
Further, they argue the regulations lack rules for digital vote buying and misuse of State resources.
As per the PPA, the draft rules state that handouts mean “a transaction whereby political parties, bodies, candidate or any other person distribute private goods, cash, gifts and other items to a person as an enticement to vote for the political party or the candidate, but shall not include matters or transactions specified in the schedule to the Act”.
The Act adds that handouts do not apply to developmental programmes or gifts that are not personalised or branded with an intention to entice a person to vote for a particular person or political party intending or contesting in an election.
It reads in part: “(4) (1) A person who is aggrieved by, or becomes aware of the issuance of a handout, may, within thirty days of the alleged issuance of the handout, lodge a complaint with the Registrar in the prescribed form set out in the First Schedule.”
In their report on the regulations, Chisankho Watch and the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) also noted several loopholes in the regulations, saying they do not have strong enforcement tools, definitions and rules for third party funding.
“The Political Parties Act (2018) requires financial disclosure, but a separate regulation outlining proactive disclosure requirements, legal obligations and enforcement mechanisms would make things a lot more clear.
“Such a rule would make it possible for political parties to show where their money comes from, how much they spend and how much money they get from outside sources. This would stop illegal funding and undue influence while encouraging fair competition in politics,” the report reads in part.
Government has also developed Complaints Handling Regulations, which state that a person or his or her representative may lodge a complaint alleging a violation of the Act with the Registrar of Political Parties by submitting the information to the Registrar.
However, Chisankho Watch and CHRR argue that the said regulations rely heavily on individual complaints, rather than proactive monitoring, which raises concerns about selective enforcement.
In an interview, private practice lawyer and academician John Gift Mwakhwawa said the Act and regulations are supposed to come out more clearer.
He said: “This is a special legislation, it’s more specific than the PPA, its specific to political party regulation. As a result, the definition of handouts is supposed to be more elaborate and a bit more encompassing. It should include matters that the PPA may not capture.
“The regulations have not come into force yet, so, there is still room for the civil society and other interested bodies to lobby for the inclusion in that definition of matters that have been left out. If the definition is somewhat left wanting, some may challenge the Act.”
Another private practice lawyer, Khwima Mchizi said while it was easy for legal minds to understand what the law says on handouts, politicians need to seek counsel to better understand the law and its regulations.
He said: “Having looked at the text, the framers of the regulations did not attempt to add more context or try to help people understand better.
“They have not tried to do that. The regulations are simply there to make the Act operational.”
On his part, Registrar of Political parties Kizito Tenthani said if people are not happy with the definition of a handout, then the only way is to amend the Act, and define it differently.
“The aim of regulations is not to change the text of what is provided in the law.
“That would amount to amending the Act through the back door. That is not allowed,” he said.
Section 41 (1) of the PPA 2018 prohibits any candidate, political party or person contesting in an election from issuing handouts.
