NGO-Gender Coordination Network (NGO-GCN) has advised women vying for various positions during the September 16 General Election to adhere to legal and regulatory framework when conducting their campaign.
The network’s chairperson Maggie Kathewera-Banda, speaking on Thursday in Mzuzu where her organisation partnered UN Women to train aspiring women on a project termed ‘Preparing to Win as a Female Candidate’, said following guidelines and laws was essential for the success of an aspiring woman candidate.
She said: “The stipulated legal structures women should follow include electoral laws, Political Parties Act and Malawi Electoral Commission [MEC] code of conduct.
“These laws need to be followed throughout the entire campaign period because they make someone refrain from doing nasty politics that demoralise candidates and the whole electoral process.”
Kathewera-Banda said women should not join the bandwagon of those breaking the code of conduct, but report them to relevant law enforcement institutions.
In her remarks, Rumphi East Alliance for Democracy (Aford) candidate Florence Khimbi-Nyadimba said the training will help her win the upcoming elections despite facing barriers such as intimidation, culture and gender inequality.
“The training has taught me how to be strategic during my political endeavours and how to use my resources,” she said.
Nkhata Bay District’s Kavuzi Ward councillor Patricia Longwe urged women to gear up their preparations for the campaign period set to run from July 14 to September 14 2025.
“More women have registered to vote this year than men. This means that women should take advantage of this data to conduct campaign targeting women,” she said.
MEC registered 7 162 217 people for the September 16 2025 General Election, with women dominating at 4 093 369, an equivalent of 57.2 percent of the provisional voters’ roll.
The training was supported by the governments of Sweden and Norway and was attended by women contesting as ward councillors and members of Parliament from the Northern Region.
