Senior Chief Kadewere of Chiradzulu has warned his juniors against denying politicians venues for their rallies, saying he will not hesitate to fire them if found doing the malpractice.
The chief fired the warning amid reports indicating that some Group Village Headmen are rejecting certain contestants’ requests to conduct political rallies in their areas, simply because the chiefs don’t subscribe to the aspirants’ ideologies.
Kadewere said this is a threat to democracy which Malawians fought for in 1994, therefore, he won’t sit back and watch the bad tendency.
“I hear there are some Chiefs who prefer certain candidates to others, to the extent that they create a no-go-zone to such candidates. Let me warn them to stop this forthwith.
“A Chief is supposed to embrace all people despite his or her political affiliation. In a democracy, we accommodate diverse views for the will of the people to prevail. So I will still stand by those democratic principles,” he stated.
He further stressed the need for Chiefs and their subjects to patronise all meetings in this campaign period in order to make informed decisions, come May 21.
In an interview, Group Village Headman Nthenda attested to Senior Chief Kadewere’s views that Chiefs must accommodate everyone irrespective of their party colour, saying it becomes easier to work with whoever carried the day after polls.
“It is important for us Chiefs to realize that voting is just a-one-day event. After the exercise, we proceed with our development projects to uplift our livelihoods. So, my fellow leaders bear in mind that all candidates have one common goal; development. So don’t push them away,” he stressed.
The local leader then appealed to his subjects to be fearless and attend every political rally in their constituency for better choices.
Meanwhile, People’s Party candidate for Chiradzulu East, Daniel Chikoja has launched his manifesto, with a plea to the electorate, to scrutinise all candidates and their manifestos before voting for them.
Chikoja said it is imperative that people attend every political meeting and disregard hand outs, to decide on the best candidate.
Less than 30 days are remaining to the May tripartite polls.
