Political parties sign code of conduct

Seven political parties in Ntchisi have signed a code of conduct to ensure peaceful 2014 Tripartite Elections.

The signing ceremony, which was facilitated by the National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) , took place at Ntchisi Community Hall on Friday and saw people wearing different party colours sitting together.

Political parties that signed the agreement are Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the Alliance for Democracy (Aford), United Democratic Front (UDF), Malawi Congress Party (MCP), People’s Party (PP), Mafunde and Nthanda.

Nice central region civic education officer Ruben Nyirenda said the agreement will outline the mode of conducting political rallies in the district.

“We want political parties to coexist during the coming political campaign. This code of conduct will ensure that there is order when it comes to booking venues for political rallies. The procedure is that each political party is supposed to inform the police that it will conduct a rally at a particular place. Secondly, the political party should inform the chief of that particular area about the same.”

The code of conduct also restricts use of provocative languages in political speeches.

Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Food Security Ulemu Chilapondwa, who is also Member of Parliament for Ntchisi South, was guest of honour at the signing ceremony.