By Wezzie Gausi:
The Office of the Registrar of Political Parties has called for a review of the Political Parties Act of 2018 following challenges and gaps identified during the implementation of the law.
Registrar of Political Parties Kizito Tenthani said experience gained since the establishment of the standalone office in 2024 had provided an opportunity to assess whether the existing legislation was serving its intended purpose.
Speaking during the National Stakeholders Conference on Strengthening Political Party Regulation for Democratic Governance in Lilongwe Thursday, Tenthani said the office had been testing the law through its operations, including registering political parties, monitoring political financing and engaging other institutions.
He said the experience had exposed areas that may require reforms, improved institutional capacity and greater clarity in the law.
“There are things that we have done. There are things that we may not have done. Those things could be based on, perhaps, our capacity and knowledge,” Tenthani said.
“Perhaps we need to introduce some reforms and strengthen the law, or maybe we need to think about the law itself,” he added.
Tenthani said the conference gives political parties, government institutions and other stakeholders a chance to reflect on the effectiveness of the legislation and determine whether changes are necessary.
He said the office had interacted with institutions such as the Malawi Electoral Commission, Parliament, prosecution authorities and the Attorney General in carrying out its responsibilities.
According to Tenthani, the Political Parties Act was developed following concerns that the previous Political Parties Registration and Regulation Act of 1993 concentrated mainly on the registration of political parties without providing adequate mechanisms for regulating their operations.
He said discussions on reforming the law began around 2008, when political parties under the Centre for Multiparty Democracy questioned how parties without parliamentary representation could be included in political dialogue.
At the time, Malawi had more than 50 registered political parties, raising questions about their operations and the effectiveness of the registration system.
Tenthani said the reform process was driven by political parties themselves through consultations, dialogue and lobbying.
He said consultations identified several areas requiring attention, including the independence of the Registrar’s office, conditions for registration and deregistration, political party financing, internal democracy and transparency.
Tenthani said concerns about the independence of the office emerged partly from difficulties some political parties experienced when seeking registration.
He cited the experiences of the People’s Party and UTM as examples that raised questions about whether the registration process was sufficiently independent.
He said the intention behind the reforms was to establish a regulatory framework that protects freedom of association while ensuring political parties comply with the law and their own constitutions.
Meanwhile, United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative Fenella Frost has called for stronger transparency in political party financing, internal democracy and accountability to strengthen Malawi’s democratic governance.
In her keynote address delivered at the conference, Frost said political party regulation must promote fair political competition while protecting citizens’ constitutional rights.
“Transparency in political financing is essential to public accountability,” Frost said.
Frost said the Political Parties Act already requires political parties to declare donations exceeding K1 million from individuals and K2 million from organisations, while prohibiting donations from State-owned corporations.
However, she said questions remain about the enforcement of these provisions, public access to financial information and whether the existing reporting requirements remain appropriate.
“Transparency should extend beyond submitting documents. Citizens need to know whether reports arrive on time, whether the information is complete, and what happens when obligations are not met,” Frost said.
On the issue of political inclusion, Frost observed that women, young people and persons with disabilities continued to face barriers to leadership positions.
She cited the 2025 Parliamentary Election, which saw 48 women getting elected to the 229-member National Assembly, representing about one-fifth of the seats.
Frost said political parties must do more to ensure fair representation through transparent candidate selection, mentoring and equal access to campaign support.