OF DISGRUNTLED VOTERS, AND WHY 21 MAY IS IMPORTANT.

This article first appeared as a feature in the Nation Newspaper of 23 January 2019 with the title: 2019; The Year of Renewed Hope. With precisely two weeks to go before the May 21 polls, the article has been edited and adapted. It is the first of a series of election-themed entries that this writer will share in the days leading up to the election, and the aftermaths.

It is a cold July evening at Limbe central business district (CBD) in Blantyre. The sun is finally settling behind the Soche hills. Darkness is fast creeping in. I am walking fast to catch the last minibus to Chigumula where I have been lodging for the past week. In my left hand is a roasted maize cob; my first meal today. In the other hand, a black plastic bag dangles with fresh cobs. It will come in handy for tomorrow’s breakfast.

As is the norm here, the streets are crowded. The vendors are all over the place now, making last ditch efforts to sell their merchandise at any reasonable price. Men and women of all ages are stumbling and bustling to board minibuses to their humble abodes after another exhausting day making a living in this impoverished country. The middle class by Malawian standards can be spotted with plastic bags in their hands. A little provision to calm the expectations lurking back home.

In the only minibus to Chigumula at the terminal, a woman sits in the middle seat with two children; a girl, about ten years old and a boy, about seven. Their appearance is making a half-hearted attempt to mask the real state of their abject poverty.  I want to talk to this woman, so I sit besides and quickly initiate a casual conversation.

A few minutes into the conversation, I gather a few details about her. Her name is Cecilia, 41. The two are the youngest of her five children. She is a single mother; the father of the children left her for another woman. She comes here in Limbe every day looking for piece-work. On some days, like today, they include sitting in empty minibuses with her children to trick prospective passengers into thinking there are already some passengers on board. It is how she and her family survive.

“I don’t have capital to do businesses and this is the only way I get to feed my children. They (the children) do not go to school because I cannot afford the school fund contributions and their clothing, so they come here with me on some days to help me raise a little money.” Cecilia bemoans, the sincerity and desperation in her voice rising above her deep Lhomwe accent.  

Cecelia says she plans to vote in the 2019 election. But unlike the previous years, she is not as enthused about it. She says that she has voted enough times to still believe her life will ever change. She voted in 2014, and in 2009, and in the two other elections before.

“It’s always the same every campaigning time.” She sighs, the apprehension on her face apparent. Every campaign period, politicians come into her area and try to sway her vote in their favour. They use the same charade; hand-outs, smooth promises and variations of philanthropic gestures. And swayed she has always been that every election day, she wakes up early in the morning and go to the polling centre. She votes and goes home, and she watches as her life remain the same, or head for the downward spiral.

In 2014, Cecilia says she voted for Dr. Joyce Banda for president. Not because she believed Dr. Banda performed during her short stint. Of course, she wouldn’t know about that for sure. She had received a t-shirt and chitenje from Dr. Banda’s party. Again, she says she knew of some people who directly benefited from Dr. Banda’s social protection initiatives. Her sister at Bvumbwe for instance belonged to a group that received live chicks as revolving fund.

Despite not being so eager about the election in 2019, Cecelia says that she still has a little hope that one day her vote will translate into a better life for her and her children. She hopes to one day witness elected leaders undertaking initiatives that will transform her life and alleviate her destitution.

“I will vote again because maybe it will be different this time and our lives will be transformed.” She finished.

I would have loved to continue the conversation, but the minibus was now full, and she had to get off. I gave her a 2000 kwacha note and watched her and her children disappear into the fast blossoming darkness.

Months later, as 2019 dawned and what seemed like a lifetime became just a matter of days, I remembered Cecilia. I remembered her because her story of poverty, frustration and desperation is a microcosm of the life of many a Malawian voter. At the same time, I remembered Cecilia because her story of resilient hope is a million reasons why 21 May is such an important day to Malawi and Malawians.

The past 25 years of multi-party democracy have seen many Malawians because so disenchanted by politicians that voting has because more of a mundane exercise. The story of Cecilia is the one shared by many Malawians whose poverty and desperation have over the years been used by politicians to get votes. After the voting, the politicians go on self-enrichment and self-aggrandizement sprees, while the people that put them in power become poorer and poorer.

Malawi has gone to polls to elect leaders on five occasions, but there seems to be nothing to take home for the voter. Poverty levels continue to skyrocket, unemployment is argued to be on the rise, and standards of living for the middle and the lower class continue to be low.  Matter-of-factly, the country seems to continue heading towards the abyss, if the recent UN report is reported here by Times is anything to go by.

The frustration is evident in the numbers that registered to vote in this year’s election, against the estimated figures. There are also real fears of voter apathy in this election. Many Malawians, like Cecilia, seem to have lost trust in politicians after decades of empty promises.

This is why this election could prove to be a turning point in the country’s budding democracy. It is an election that could make people like Cecilia renew their trust in the democratic processes vis-à-vis the alleviation of their livelihoods. And to the many first-time voters, this should be the election that will ensure that they will look forward to the next election with optimism and excitement.

So, as the clock runs down and the count-down continues, let the story of Cecilia be a reminder that as a country, we have this grand opportunity to change the stories of many voters whose lives and futures depend on the choices we make on the day. With their hopes hanging by a thread, this might be the election that renewed their trust in this important democratic exercise.

Next entry; “Know your candidates and what they are promising.”

Until next time.