By Deogratias Mmana:
President Lazarus Chakwera is consulting stakeholders on the call by civil society organisations (CSOs) for an emergency parliamentary session amid restrictions on voting arrangements that could affect potentially over 50,000 voters.
CSOs—under Civil Society Elections Integrity Forum (CSEIF)—have written Chakwera and Speaker of Parliament Catherine Gotani-Hara, asking for their intervention so that an emergency session to amend Section 74 of the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections Act (PPLGEA) Number 10 of 2023 can be held.
In its current form, PPLGEA does not allow special voting arrangements for voters who cannot be present at their original polling centres.
Chairperson for the CSOs, Benedicto Kondowe, said he personally delivered the letters.
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In a questionnaire response yesterday, Presidential Press Secretary Anthony Kasunda said Chakwera was consulting on the matter.
“The President is consulting the Speaker and the Ministry of Justice on the constitutional implications of the situation to ensure that the course of action taken does not compromise the independence of the Legislature or involve the abuse of presidential powers,” Kasunda said.
According to the CSOs, there are over 50,000 eligible voters who are disenfranchised by the law, a figure they say is “both alarming and unacceptable in a constitutional democracy”.
The PPLGEA No. 10 of 2023, as amended, reads: “A registered voter shall exercise his or her right to vote at a polling station located at the registration centre where he or she is registered or has been transferred to in accordance with this Act.”
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This provision, which was introduced following the 2022 amendments, repealed the former Section 75 (2) of the PPLGEA, which guaranteed flexibility for voters who were unable to vote at their original registration centres.
The repealed provision stated: “If it is not possible for a person to vote at a polling station located at the registration centre where he is registered, the registration officer of that centre or other duly authorised officer may, on the request of such person, grant him written authorisation in the prescribed form to vote at a polling station located in the place where he will be present on the polling day and in that case the polling station officers at such other polling station shall record in the manner prescribed by the commission instructions in writing his name, the number of his voter registration certificate and the place of his registration.
“Provided that the registration officer or other authorised officer may at his sole discretion refuse to grant the request.”
In a statement issued on Friday, and signed by Kondowe, the CSOs said failure to retain a mechanism for special authorisation in the amended law is a serious omission that will deny the right to vote to critical categories of citizens that include security personnel deployed to maintain law and order, polling staff assigned to manage the elections, accredited monitors and observers and members of the media covering the elections.
“This restrictive provision stands in direct conflict with Section 40 of the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi, which guarantees every citizen the right to participate fully in the political process, including the right to vote. Denying this right on the basis of deployment obligations is a violation of constitutional guarantees and international democratic standards,” the statement reads.
The statement adds: “Failure to act will undermine the integrity of the 2025 elections, disenfranchise thousands of citizens who are, in fact, serving to uphold the democratic process and erode public confidence in our electoral system.”
The CSOs then ask the President to act on the issue.
“Your Excellency, we respectfully urge you to exercise the authority vested in you under Section 59 (1) of the Constitution, which empowers the President to summon Parliament to meet at such time and place as the President may appoint. We appeal that you call an emergency session of Parliament pursuant to Section 59(1) of the Constitution of Malawi to amend Section 74 of the PPLGEA and remember [to] reinstate a lawful mechanism for voters on official duty to exercise their right to vote,” the letter reads.
Mec Chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja said, as the law stands, the commission’s hands are tied.
She said, as such, Mec could not contravene the law by writing authorisation letters to officers on duty for them to vote elsewhere.
