Female aspirants in the September 16 General Election in Nkhata Bay have attributed their poor performance to inadequate financial resources and poor road network in some parts of the district.
Out of 17 female contestants in the district, only two—Emily Chinthu Phiri, who ran on a UTM Party ticket in Nkhata Bay South Constituency and Patricia Longwe, who ran on Alliance for Democracy ticket in Kavuzi Ward, sailed through.
I Zondani Mbale
Speaking on Wednesday during a review meeting that NGO-Gender Coordination Network (NGO-GCN) organised in the district, Charity Harawa, who ran as parliamentarian in Nkhata Bay West Constituency, said she could not reach some areas because of poor road network.
She said: “As you know, the district is hilly and for us to reach every corner, it required a lot of financial resources.
“However, we need more capacity building and support in terms of materials as we gear up to the 2030 elections.”
Harawa thanked NGO-GCN for building their capacity, which helped them formulate good campaign manifestos.
On her part, Longwe
agreed with Harawa, saying despite her victory, her road to 2025 election was not easy.
She said: “The campaign period coincided wi t h fuel scarcity which made transport fares go high.
“With inadequate financial resources, it was hard for some of us to reach many areas; hence, failed to many voters with company messages.”
NGO-GCN member Dorothy Chiumia said it was sad that only two women won in the September election.
She argued that the aspirants flopped because of limited financial resources.
“We appeal to them not to sit back but intensify efforts to sell themselves to the people ahead of the 2030 election,” said Chiumia.
N G O – G C N i s implementing a Political Empowerment of Women in Malawi Project with support from UN Women under the Malawi Electoral Support Basket Fund.
