European Union (EU) election observation team has commended Dowa for a peaceful campaign saying the team has observed incidents of political violence in other districts.
Speaking on Tuesday after visiting the District Elections Supervisory Team (DEST), EU elections long term observer Sophie Wauters said during their observation they have encountered a number of issues such as political violence in most districts which is quite different from Dowa as the district has not yet recorded any political violence since the campaign period was launched.
She also urged the police, the council and all electoral stakeholders to work in solidarity in order to maintain peaceful campaign in the district.
“We have observed so many issues in most districts but it is a different story here in Dowa as the campaigns are being conducted peacefully. It is our plea that the police and district council should work hand in hand to maintain peaceful campaigns as we are counting down to May 21 tripartite elections,” she said.
Commenting on the development, Dowa district commissioner Alex Mdooko said the council in collaboration with the police has put strict measures to make sure that there is no violence in political rallies conducted in the district.
He said the district council involves the youths in so many projects and programmes and that they have also involved them in making sure that there are peaceful campaigns in the district to restrict them from being used as agents of violence.
“We have not received any violence reports or activities contrary to the campaign ahead of 21st May tripartite elections. We however urge all aspiring candidates to conduct their campaigns peacefully. We have also involved the youths to maintain peaceful campaign and we really appreciate the efforts they are putting in maintaining peaceful campaign,” said Mdooko.
MEC conducted dry test for results management system on the 1st and 2nd of May 2019 in preparation for the forthcoming tripartite election in May.
Story by Collings Kavute – MEC Stringer
