By Steve Chirombo

Dedza, April 11, Mana: Chiefs in the area of Traditional Authorities (T/As) Kachere and Kaphuka in Dedza district have vowed to support candidates vying for various positions, as long as they have development agendas and agree to conduct their campaign peacefully.

The two chiefs made the sentiments on Thursday during a community dialogue with community members organized by Women’s Legal Resource Centre (Wolrec) and Oxfam aimed at supporting women, youths and people with disabilities to participate during the September 16 General Elections.

Speaking in separate interviews, Group Village Headmen (GVH) Mgundadzuwa under T/A Kachere assured voters that, as chiefs, they will not tolerate violence against other political opponents.

He said: “We have aspirants from all major political parties. All we want is issue-based politics and not violence. As chiefs, we are therefore encouraging voters to go to rallies and make informed decisions.”

On the other hand, GVH Fosa under Chief Kaphuka, warned politicians to avoid uttering words that incite violence.

 “We all have a role to play during the elections. I appeal politicians to tell eligible voters what they will do once ushered into some positions.

“Unfortunately, some politicians incite violence. We don’t want that," he said.

In his remarks, one of the facilitators from National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE), Vincent Kalawa, said the dialogues were crucial, saying people were able to express their views and also know youths, women and some people with disabilities who are competing during the elections.

 “We currently don’t have a female parliamentarian in Dedza. Youths and people with disabilities are also not in some positions. These engagement meetings are therefore very important," stated Kalawa.

With funding from the European Union, Oxfam in Malawi and Wolrec are implementing the Promoting Gender Transformative and Youth Inclusive Democracy in Malawi Project that aims at supporting women, youths and people with disabilities who are contesting in the September 16 general elections.