Catholic bishops Sunday issued a pastoral letter in which they tipped Malawians on six qualities of a good Head of State and Government.
This comes at a time Malawians are preparing for the September 16 Local Government, Parliamentary and Presidential Elections this year.
In a pastoral letter titled ‘Who Will Roll Away The Stone For Us?’, read in all the Catholic churches across the country, the bishops say they will not endorse any candidate or political party ahead of the polls.
In the letter—signed by bishops Martin Mtumbuka, Peter Chifukwa, Thomas Msusa, George Tambala, Peter Musikuwa, Montfort Stima, John Ryan, Alfred Chaima, Yohane Nyirenda, and Vincent Mwakhwawa—the bishops said while “humanly speaking” the magnitude of the challenges Malawi is facing are almost impossible to overcome, the bishops believe that with the right kind of President, Malawi can eliminate most of such challenges and reduce some.
Among other things, the bishops say the best president for Malawi must be capable of making tough and brave decisions for a better future of the country and not bury his or her head in the sand in the face of oncoming storms.
They further say a good president must have the courage to stand up and say what needs to be said rather than just saying what people like to hear or being tossed about by her or his advisers.
“Work for people’s wellbeing rather than fighting for his/her re-election or protecting political positions of colleagues.
“Listen to the people he/ she leads. He/she should also listen to other leaders so that they can work together and face problems together,” they say.
“Resist nepotism, regionalism, cronyism and corruption,” the bishops add.
The men-of-the-collar further say the best president for Malawi must reinforce the rule of law across the country and bring to an end the torturing and killing of elderly people in villages.
The bishops are quick to note that while they have attempted to describe qualities of most suitable candidates to be voted into office, in reality, it is very unlikely that any single candidate will have all these qualities.
They observe that even in the case where none of the candidates is of a voter’s liking, the voter should still vote by applying the principle of the lesser evil.
“The principle of lesser evil means choosing the option that causes less harm, even if both options are considered negative, essentially picking the lesser evil between two bad choices. Even if a voter strongly dislikes all candidates, he/she should choose one of the candidates based on the ‘lesser evil’ principle.
“In short, even in cases where no candidate meets all the desired qualities, citizens, listening to their informed consciences and after prayer, should apply the ‘principle of lesser evil’ by voting for the candidate whom they perceive as least harmful.
“Abstaining from voting is not an option. The common saying that ‘we have a choice-less election so I will not vote’ is not acceptable,” the letter reads.
But when asked yesterday, all the major politic
