Press Statement
Presidential Debates 2014
For Immediate release, 24 April, 2014
The multi-stakeholder Taskforce on Malawi Presidential Debates, chaired by the National Media Institute of Southern Africa (NAMISA), will hold a second Presidential Debate on Tuesday, April 29, 2014. The debate will take place at the Bingu International Conference Centre, (BICC), from 6:00 to 9:00 pm and broadcast live on radio, television and internet.
The debate will be limited to political parties fielding parliamentary candidates in not less than 10 percent of the total 193 constituencies. The same criteria will be used for the third debate scheduled for Victoria Hotel in Blantyre on May 6.
Most of the candidates have confirmed participation.
The debate will combine Chichewa and English and will be restricted to invited guests only and moderated by a well-respected, knowledgeable Malawian with a neutral stand and very conversant with Malawian politics.
The debates have been organised to inspire issues based elections and enable candidates to market their ideas and policies to the electorate. In addition, the debates aim to (1) motivate candidates to focus on real policy issues, and articulate their position on matters that are important to Malawians, thereby providing a basis for holding the winning candidate accountable after the elections; (2) provide voters with a rare opportunity to compare presidential contenders side by side; (3) help to promote political tolerance among candidates and (4) provide an opportunity for political rivals to show that despite their differences they can treat each other with mutual respect even when they disagree on issues which would in turn promote political coexistence before and after the elections.
Funding for the debates has been provided by the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) with the National Democratic Institute providing technical assistance made possible by support from UKAID.
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The debates taskforce was formed in July in response to interests by respective organizations to host presidential debates. Members include Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC), Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP), National Initiative For Civic Education (NICE), National Democratic Institute (NDI), Malawi Electoral Support Network (MESN), Mtendere Support Network (MESN), Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD), Public Affairs Committee (PAC), Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS), Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD), NGO-Gender Coordination Network (NGO-GCN), The National Media Institute of Southern Africa (NAMISA) and Young Politicians Union of Malawi (YPU).
For more information contact:
Anthony Kasunda
Chairperson
Presidential Debates Taskforce
Email: akasunda2008@gmail.com
Cell: 0999952457