Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy

Over the course of the four day visit, organized by NIMD’s ESARP program, the Malawians held a number of joint workshops with various political leaders, electoral officials and civil society organizations. Explaining the purpose of the exchange, Mr. Kizito Tenthani head of the Centre for Multiparty Democracy in Malawi (CMD-M), told his hosts "we came to learn - what really went wrong here and what is the way forward"

With their own general election set for May 2009 the Malawi delegation had a chance to take an in-depth and up-close look at why Kenyan political institutions were not strong enough to prevent violence that erupted following the elections at the start of 2008. The visitors shared with their hosts an assessment of the particular challenges they face and in turn looked for commonalities between their respective experiences. During their session with the Kenyan Coalition of Civil Society they agreed on the imperative for "mature political parties" to act as the "true carriers of democracy" and to strengthen the institutional and constitutional framework as urgently as possible.

Hot Politics

The visiting delegation comprised of one member from each of the seven political parties in Malawi, a representative of the ESARP secretariat and a commissioner from the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC). They were also joined by a representative from the Malawi Electoral Support Network (MESN), a civil society coalition of NGOs, primarily working on elections, to which CMD-M is partner.

The head of the Malawian delegation, Mr. Francis Mphepo, expressed delight with the visit and said the group had travelled to Kenya “for the benefit of learning lessons after what happened in the 2007 general election and to appreciate what Kenya went through." Doing so, he said, would help ensure "such things do not happen again."

Welcoming the delegation at his Nairobi office, the chair of the Electoral Commission of Kenya, Mr S.M. Kivuitu told the Malawians that a robust and credible electoral commission was an absolute prerequisite to a fair and peaceful general election.

Mr. Kivuitu also stressed the need for political leaders to do all in their power to insure that neither an incendiary language nor an appeal to ethnicity hijack the elections. "Each leader has an important part to play because in Malawi your politics is as hot as ours" he said. Ms. G. Chikoko, representing the Malawi Electoral Commission expressed her intention to convey his message to her colleagues back home.

The Kenyan coalition of civil society echoed the call for an independent, non-partisan electoral commission to be in place in advance of the election. They also emphasised the need and opportunity to strengthen institutional and constitutional framework in Malawi and to encourage many 'vital voices' – including women, youth groups and others, to participate in the dialogue surrounding the electoral process.

The Power of the Ballot

Recounting the role Kenyan civil society played in resolving the post-election violence, Njeri Kabeberi, Executive Director CMD-K told the delegation that “the power of the ballot is the most peaceful expression of people power.” But, she added, this power can only be exercised when the political parties and institutions are strong enough defend the ideal. Genuine leadership means "the needs of the population must come before the needs of the political parties" she said.

The delegates also heard how the Kenyan political structure, with its weak institutions, and a culture of political impunity, rather than any specific grievances over ethnicity or land, formed the deep roots of the crisis. Ms Kabeberi stressed how important it would be for the political parties in Malawi to take all the steps they could, as soon as possible, to ensure their internal elections nomination processes are handled fairly and honestly.

Again and again the delegation heard of the need to build solid institutional and constitutional structures, the lack of which, more than any other single factor, caused Kenya's January disaster.

A willingness to identify such gaps in capacity, as well as the legal and administrative framework of their electoral process will be the key if Malawi is to find viable solutions and inclusive approaches to it's elections this May.

"In our opinion, with this knowledge, we now have a vaccine so that the virus that befell Kenya will not break out in Malawi” said Mr. Kennedy Matundu of the People's Transformation Party in his remarks at the Electoral Commission of Kenya.

The cross country exchange was organised by NIMD's ESARP program which is focussing the majority of its effort in Malawi this year on the elections or elections related activities.

On the final day of the exchange the Malawi delegation had an opportunity to observe the CMD-K board meeting and witness first hand the Kenyan inter-party dialogue platform in action.

Tangible Opportunity

What followed the elections in Kenya cost many lives, contributed to polarization and appeared to set the African democratization agenda several steps back. However, the crisis, as devastating as it was, may prove to provide invaluable insight not just to Malawi but to many other countries on the continent that are adjusting themselves to the morning lights of democracy after the long night of one party and authoritarian rule.

Having had the chance to dialogue intensely with the main players in Kenya's electoral process, the Malawi delegation returns home today with a tangible sense of opportunity. The lessons learned in Kenya may indeed be used to improve the electoral process in Malawi: to foster more creative political leadership, encourage more robust political institutions and ultimately secure a sound structural basis for a deep-seated and on-going democratization process.

Backstory

The political climate in Malawi

Since Malawi’s General Elections of June 2004, the country has gone through some political turbulence which has threatened the very survival of the nascent democracy. Several issues have contributed to this situation. The main bone of contention however, has been the resignation of the president from the party that sponsored him into office. This move precipitated a chain of events: the presidents’ former parties, joined by other opposition parties agitated for the removal of the president through impeachment as a way of getting even with him; the members of parliament that followed the president into the new “ruling” party faced challenges as they were deemed to have crossed the floor; the president found it very difficult to fill crucial positions of government since the combined forces of the opposition could reject public appointments with ease (the case in point would be the appointment of the Inspector General of Police, the Director of the Anti Corruption Bureau, the appointment of the Auditor General, and the appointment of commissioners of the Electoral Commission).

On top of all this, the government has had a very difficult time to pass the national budget, and often, there have been very serious threats by the opposition to reject the budget, thereby paralysing government business. This is the political climate within which CMD – M has been operating.

CMD – M sets out to ensure the entrenchment of multiparty democracy in Malawi. Its mission is to “enhance inter-party programs of common interest for the promotion of political dialogue, stable multi party democracy and social economic development of Malawi.”