Lawyers have been advised to take a leading role in sensitising the citizenry on the importance of making informed decisions during elections.
Chairperson of the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), Justice Chifundo Kachale, made the call when he officially opened the Malawi Law Society (MLS) General Conference which is underway in Mangochi.
Kachale observed that if lawyers take a leading role in enlightening the populace on various laws and provisions guiding Malawi’s elections, the more Malawians can competently participate in elections and choose people of their choice.
“Elections are meant to create a society where justice, equality, dignity, transparency and fairness define parameters within powers to determine the policy direction of a given society,” he said.
He also said the electoral reforms that MEC is undertaking are taking shape and include the use of National Identity Card when registering to vote as well as engaging the Judiciary to draft a legislation that could help in dealing with electoral disputes or election results.
MLS president, Patrick Mpaka, says as an institution, they believe their mandate is to set the agenda after drawing lessons from previous elections.
“We have been challenged as lawyers, and we shall work towards [addressing] the issues raised to ensure that the people are well informed and vote wisely,” he said.
The theme for this year’s general conference is ‘interrogating the Malawi Electoral Systems towards 2025 General Elections’.
