The National Elections System Trust – NEST has advised political parties in the country to avoid violence when campaigning for the fourth coming tripartite elections.

Malawians will cast their votes in 2019 and the electoral calendar was launched by the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) on Tuesday.

Executive Director for NEST Unandi Banda said violent campaigning is one of the issues that cause voter apathy and this has been a major complaint by different stakeholders in the country.

“It is high time that responsible candidates consider the campaign period to express developmental issues that they will offer to the community after being voted into power,” he said.

Banda said political parties seem to be resistant to change and this demotivates voters during the elections.

He also mentioned lack of civic education as another challenge that contributes to voter apathy as this is supposed to be done frequently in all districts.

Banda has therefore asked leaders of different political parties to be on the forefront and lead by example to their candidates on how best to campaign for a political position in their community.