The government has given the National Registration Bureau (NRB) $4 million (about K4 billion) for the procurement of supplies such as printers, which are needed ahead of the 2025 general elections.
Homeland Security Minister Ken Zikhale Ng’oma disclosed this yesterday, on the sidelines of the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) and NRB to cooperate ahead of the elections.
The MoU is meant to facilitate cooperation in the delivery of their services as the current electoral law requires that every eligible voter must be registered with the NRB to vote.
“The government has provided $4 million for buying supplies and everything we need in preparation for the 2025 general elections,” Zikhale Ng’oma said.
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He added that people should not despair because the government wants the country to conduct free, fair and credible elections, hence the agreement between the two sides.
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The minister said the government would make sure that every eligible person casts a vote to exercise the right of voting.
Mec Chairperson Judge Chifundo Kachale said the MoU is important as the current law requires everyone to register with NRB before registering with Mec.
“As we gather today, the clock is fast ticking towards September 16 2025, when the nation will, once again, hold a general election. It is the aspiration of the Malawi Electoral Commission, and I believe all electoral stakeholders, that the 2025 tripartite elections should be a big success,” Kachale said.
He added that “it is an undeniable fact” that challenges, some of them unforeseen, would always emerge in an election because each election brings its own unique challenges.
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Kachale, however, said if there would be a proper plan and preparations, such challenges could be deterred.
“As you might all know, one fundamental principle of holding a credible election is to get it right with the voters’ register. For 2019 and 2020 elections, we had the best voter register ever because we successfully migrated to a biometric voter registration system,” he said.
Kachale said the success of voter registration for the 2019 elections could, in a big way, be attributed to the working partnership that exists between Mec and NRB.
The event was witnessed by, among others, Mec Chief Elections Officer Andrew Mpesi, Mec commissioners and Homeland Security Principal Secretary Oliver Kumbambe.
Malawi is expected to go to the polls in September 2025 after holding a presidential election on June 23 2020.
