With less than three weeks to the start of the official campaign period for the September 16 General Election, about 100 independent women aspirants are appealing for funding.
The aspirants want to contest for parliamentary and local government seats and need financial assistance to effectively run their campaigns and pay nomination fees.
Addressing the press in Lilongwe yesterday, the group’s chairperson Pilirani Buleya, a parliamentary aspirant for Lilongwe Nkhoma Constituency, said they need K500 million to support their participation in the elections.
She said: “We believe that as women, we have the potential to serve Malawians better, but if well-wishers do not come to our rescue, it will be very difficult for us to campaign.
“This support we are seeking can come in various forms, not just money. We are open to receiving assistance in the form of materials that could be helpful during campaign.”
Buleya said their banking details are: Account Name: Independent Women Aspirants; Account Number: 1970100117056, Service Centre: City Centre, Bank: FDH Bank.
Weighing in, the group’s treasurer Chrissie Mangulenje-Msiska, an aspirant for Phalombe South Constituency, said of the 100 aspirants, 75 are contesting for parliamentary seats while 25 are seeking local government positions.
A national strategy on political empowerment of women that government launched last year targets to have women winning at least 35 percent of parliamentary and local government seats in the 2025 elections, and 50 percent of the seats in 2030.
In an interview, Oxfam in Malawi country director Lingalireni Mihowa said Oxfam in partnership with Women’s Legal Resource Centre under a European Union-funded project will support women aspirants with financial assistance in seven districts.
She, however, said the beneficiaries will first have to be certified by the Malawi Electoral Commission to get the support.
“The aspirants will be provided with cash transfers in the range of K1.5 million to K3.5 million depending on the number of candidates,” she said.
Asked what the Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare is doing to remove financial barriers that women are facing to compete in the elections, the ministry’s spokesperson Pauline Kaunde asked for more time to consult on the matter.
Meanwhile, political analyst George Chaima has said if the issue of resources is not addressed, a number of independent female candidates will not be able to make it.
“This election has suffered lack of effective resource mobilisation. It is either donors have not honoured their word for support or they have not been serious. Sometimes donors look at the track record but also see the way resources were managed in the past,” he said.
