The Registrar of Political Parties has called for intensified public awareness to help citizens understand what constitutes handouts—which are prohibited under the Political Parties Act—to enhance compliance with the law.

Registrar Kizito Tenthani made the call yesterday in Lilongwe during a press briefing, where he revealed that during the 2025 elections, many complaints related to the issuance of handouts were lodged, but most lacked sufficient evidence to be pursued.

“People lodged complaints that did not have tangible evidence, leaving us with no option but to close the cases,” said Tenthani.

He disclosed that a total of 88 cases were dismissed for lack of evidence.

Meanwhile, National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) Public Trust executive director Gray Kalindekafe said the organization is ready to conduct civic education on the matter but emphasized the need to review existing laws on handouts.

“Civic education is not a magic bullet. There are structural challenges within the Political Parties Act itself—it has several gaps that need to be addressed. For instance, it still allows certain forms of handouts such as party-branded materials and money given to campaign teams,” Kalindekafe said.

The Registrar’s office further revealed that it received a total of 196 complaints before and after polling day, of which seven were withdrawn by the complainants, leaving 189 cases. Out of these, 178 were related to the distribution of handouts.