In a bid to ensure a free,fair and credible May 20 tripartite elections, the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP),an arm of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) has trained at least 150 animators from Karonga,Mzuzu and Dedza dioceses of the Catholic Church.
The trained animators will be deployed in the centers selected from the three dioceses to monitor the electoral process especially during the counting of votes.
Speaking at Mtendere Catholic Parish in Dedza where animators drawn from Matumba,Kasina and Mtendere Parishes where about 50 animators were trained, CCJP’s National Programs Officer Beatrice Mateyo Mkanda said the trainings in all the dioceses are aimed at complementing the Catholic Church’s values which among others is to realize the significance of a Christian participation in socio-economic and political issues.
Mkanda challenged the trained animators to utilize and develop skills in becoming domestic observers (monitors) in the forthcoming tripartite elections.
“From the onset,the Justice and Peace spiritually is the foundation needed for any CCJP animator to understand and internalize the relevancy of the word of God in doing justice and peace work Without this basis,it is compellingly difficult for anybody to realize the significance of a Christian participation in socio-economic and political issues,”said Mkanda.
According to Mkanda,the trained animators have been imparted with skills to understand the tripartite election, electoral related conflicts and conflict management strategies.
For his part, CCJP’s board member for Dedza diocese, Fr. Gracian Kalim’mawa said in the long run, it is anticipated that the capacity of all CCJP animators in the targeted dioceses will be built for them to meaningfully and effectively contribute to the process that bring about free, fair, credible, transparent and peaceful electoral processes before, during and after the May 20 tripartite elections.
“Through our animators, we look forwards to see Malawi in unison with the national anthem. Oh God Bless land of Malawi. Keep it a Land of Peace. As Malawi celebrates 50 years old since attaining self rule, our animators participation in these electoral processes testify the significant role the Catholic Church has in shaping the economic and political governance landscape of this country,” said Fr. Kalim’mawa.
Dedza District Elections Clerk, Frackson Kafausiyanji commended the Catholic Church through CCJP for taking an initiative in ensuring that the May 20 tripartite elections are handled with conscious and that the electoral results are accepted for all. He challenged the trained animators to act as referees when handling the electoral process in their respective centers.
“What you must know is that an election is like a game of football where candidates compete. You are therefore there as referees of the game meaning that you will be there as an eye of the Malawi Electoral Commission. You are obliged to monitor every process and bring trust to the voters as true representatives of MEC,” said Kafausiyanji.
The 150 animators from all the tree targeted dioceses have among others been drilled in the following topics: the spirituality of Justice and Peace, Elections, Non-partisan Elections Observation and Monitoring, Electoral challenges in Malawi and Bishops Pastoral Letters and Elections (What the Catholic Bishops have said about elections).
CCJP is implementing the one year Institutional Capacity Building Project towards 2014 Tripartite Elections Project with funding amounting to USD 41,316 from the Catholic Relief Services (CRS)