Political parties have capitalised on a lack of g uidel i n es f o r disclosure of funding sources and are yet to comply with the law six months to the September 16 General Election, it has emerged.
Registrar of political parties Kizito Tenthani, speaking in Lilongwe yesterday during a Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on Political Party Financing under the theme ‘Fair play: Keeping the promise on political party financing’, said no formal guidelines exist to govern how parties should make the disclosures.
He said: “There have been no guidelines to direct political parties’ focus or structure their responses.
“How do they comply, even if willing? This issue was central to the Malawi Law Society [MLS] versus Registrar of Political Parties case.”
But Tenthani did not commit to any timeframe.
The High Court of Malawi last month granted MLS permission to pursue a judicial review of the registrar’s failure to provide details about party funding.
The application for judicial review followed two letters that MLS wrote to the Registrar of Political Parties on July 20 and September 30 2021, seeking information within 15 days on political party financiers during the 2019 Tripartite Elections and 2020 court-sanctioned fresh presidential election. The registrar’s office did not comply.
Tenthani added that his office consulted the Ministry of Justice and will summarise the Political Parties Act for parties.
“The Act clearly outlines steps to fol low before elections. We will adhere to it,” he said.
Section 27 (2) of the Political Parties Act compels political parties to declare to the registrar any donation with a monetary value of at least K1 000 000 from an individual donor.
During the meeting, MLS vice-president McHarvey Ngwata made a presentation wh i c h , among other s , indicated that studies have shown a party in power often enjoys an unfair advantage in accessing State resources.
In an interview, he said generally, the country needs laws that are workable and effective, adding that at any given point in time, there will always be a chance to make certain clauses better, for carrying into effect the intention of the law itself.
Said Ngwata: “So, if your question is to say, do we have the perfect law, I would say no. Is there room to make it better? I would say yes. State resources are supposed to be State resources.
“It’s important to have a demarcation anyway. I think that’s what the law envisages—that public funds should not be used by the parties to advance their own political interests.’
On his part, Civil Society Elections Integrity Forum cha i rper son Benedi c to Kondowe urged reforms beyond the Political Parties Act, arguing that the Act is limited to political parties, but the Presidential Parliament and Local Government Elections Act has a provision which focuses on candidates.
He said: “The minute we do not demarcate what is a development rally from a political party rally, we’ll continue to rip off Malawians.”
Commenting on the issue, National Anti-Corruption Alliance vice-chairperson Rehema Patricks faulted the culture of handouts, saying it distorts voter choices, fuels financial dependency and creates systemic barriers for youth candidates.
She noted: “Seasoned politicians often have access to vast financial resources accumulated over multiple terms, while young candidates struggle to raise sufficient funds to run competitive campaigns.”
