Africa-Press – Malawi. The National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) has called for a review of guidelines governing the handling of complaints related to the distribution of money during campaign periods.
Nice Executive Director Grey Kalindekafe made the remarks in Lilongwe yesterday while presenting the organisation’s report on the conduct of the 2025 general elections.
According to the report, many cases linked to the distribution of money during campaigns failed to progress due to a lack of evidence.
“There is [a] need for stronger enforcement of [provisions of] the Political Parties Act, including regulation of campaign financing and handouts or vote buying,” the report reads.
Nice further points at the need for tougher enforcement of campaign finance regulations and improved media fairness.
“There are so many cases that went to court in relation to handouts but the cases could not proceed due to lack of tangible evidence,” Kalindekafe said.
Despite growing concern over persistent political handouts, the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) says the biggest obstacle to the effective implementation of the Political Parties Act is low public awareness.
This is according to a report from the office, which states that the 2025 elections largely served as a learning process, as they were the first to be conducted since the law came into force.
“The 2025 elections were the first general elections to take place with the ORPP in place, albeit in a very nascent state. As such, the entire process became a significant learning experience for the ORPP, political parties, candidates and the public,” the report reads.
Among other things, the Nice reports indicates that the 2025 General Election was largely peaceful, competitive and credible, “reinforcing elections as the cornerstone of Malawi’s representative democracy.”
Malawi’s key law on political funding is the Political Parties Act of 2018, which seeks to regulate party registration, financing and operations. The law prohibits direct government funding while establishing rules for public funding based on electoral performance.
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