In a bid to promote inclusivity in politics, stakeholders are calling on political parties to provide adequate support to candidates with disabilities.
David Njaidi, Executive Director of the Disability HIV/AIDS Trust, an affiliate of the Federation of Disability Organizations in Malawi (FEDOMA), emphasized the need for political parties to offer necessary backing to candidates with disabilities, both during primary and general elections.
Njaidi appealed noting that persons with disabilities continue to face significant barriers in their pursuit of political office. He highlighted that by providing support to candidates with disabilities, political parties can help level the playing field and promote greater inclusivity in politics.
“We noted that political parties sometimes fail to give that necessary support, and people with disabilities face a lot of challenges in going through primary and general elections. We would like to appeal to political parties to give adequate support to candidates with disabilities during the primary elections as well as during the process of campaigning for the parliamentary and local government elections,” said Njaidi.
While acknowledging that some political parties have supported candidates with disabilities, Njaidi emphasized the need to scale up this support. He urged parties to go beyond mere accommodation and actively encourage voters to choose candidates with disabilities.
“There is no harm even to say we have this candidate, we have vetted him, he is the right candidate, he is a strong candidate he can make it,” he added.
