Funding Dry Spell Forces MAM Electoral Commission to Introduce Nomination Fee

Muslim Association of Malawi newly appointed Electoral Commission has introduced the nomination fee as one way of mobilizing funds for this year’s MAM elections.

MAM’s Electoral Commission chairman Al-Hajj Twaibu Lawe said introduction of nomination fee is the only last resort for the delayed MAM elections to be conducted since no donor is interested to fund the elections.

He said, “MAM Board of Trustees in January this year made the request to the well wishers to donate towards MAM elections pegged at 8 million Kwacha but up to now nobody has come.”

The unprecedented dry of donation to fund the elections, will eventually force respective candidates at district, regional and national level to pay to take part in the elections as oppose to previous elections whereby the nomination fee was for candidates at national level only.

Lawe: Forms are available in all three regions

Lawe said both MAM Board of Trustees as well as the Executive Committee wants to make sure that the elections are conducted by the end of this year.

“Any candidate at district level is supposed to pay 10 thousand kwacha as the nomination fee and any candidate at regional level is asked to pay fifty thousand kwacha while at national level the Chairman is asked to pay five hundred thousand kwacha, three hundred thousand kwacha who wants to compete as the Vice Chairman at national level and two hundred fifty thousand on other positions at national level,” said MAM Chairman of elections.

He said the nomination forms are currently available in all three regions in the country and asked the affiliates to get them.

“For those in the Northern region they can get these forms at MAM Regional office in Mzuzu, in the central region, the forms are available at Lilongwe MAM regional office and in the Southern region, the forms are available in many districts like in Blantyre at MAM Headquarters office, Machinga MAM office Zone, Chikwawa Islamic Centre, Mangochi Islamic Centre and Mulanje MAM office zone and the closing date for receiving these nomination forms is on 6^th July 2016,” Lawe said.

Asked what will happen if they get funding for these elections after others have already paid Lawe said; “If we get funding in the process, we will be obliged to pay back the collected nomination fee.”