The Human Rights Defenders Coalition has condemned the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for propagating politics of vengeance and has instead implored the opposition to promote issue based campaign.
Recently, there have been instances where DPP officials, including Director of Youth Norman Chisale, have openly declared vengeance should they be voted back into power while others have made remarks inciting violence against opponents.
In a statement released on Monday and signed by National Chairperson Gift Trapence, HRDC has urged DPP to package their campaign messages in a manner that advances issue based campaign and promotes peace, unity, tolerance and provides tangible solutions to dealing with the challenges the country is facing.
” We urge the opposition led by the DPP to do a soul searching of their role to provide checks and balances, to promote issue based campaign and desist from hate speech and politics of vengeance, especially DPP officials who, on podiums, are openly proclaiming vengeance should they be voted back into government,” reads the statement.
HRDC has also appealed to all political parties to respect the democratic process and refrain from violence or intimidation.
” We further urge the government to ensure a fair and level playing field for all political parties. We also remind both the government and opposition parties of their obligations to respect human rights and the rule of law,” says Trapence in the statement.
Malawi will be heading general elections on September 25 this year.
