By Pemphero Malimba & Mercy Matonga
Some civil society organisations (CSOs) have called on the Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) to address concerns raised during voter registration and transfers, as electoral stakeholders converge in Lilongwe today for a National Elections Consultative Forum (Necof) meeting.
The meeting comes two days after Mec officials met with President Lazarus Chakwera in Lilongwe on Monday.
The commission, led by its chairperson Justice Annabel Mtalimanja, presented a report on the state of preparedness for the September 16 General Elections to Chakwera.
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Communication from Mec indicates that the commission updated Chakwera on issues such as voter registration, voter transfer, procurement of sensitive and non-sensitive materials for polling, and activities such as inspection and verification of the voter register, nomination of candidates and polling.
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It says stakeholders would be updated on the same during today’s meeting.
Centre for Democracy and Elections Team Leader Aloisious Nthenda told The Daily Times Tuesday that the organisation wants an update on concerns related to voter registration, among others.
“Our expectation is that Mec will update the stakeholders on how it addressed concerns raised during voter registration and especially how they have addressed the issue of missing names and voter details in the preliminary voter register,” Nthenda said.
This is despite Mec having previously declared that all the voter transfer issues had been rectified and that those who sought transfers had been handled.
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Civil Society Elections Integrity Forum Chairperson Benedicto Kondowe also said the organisation expects Mec to update stakeholders on the integrity of the voters’ register and transparency in the procurement of election materials, among others.
“At Necof, we expect to raise the following issues in pursuit of electoral integrity: transparency in the procurement of election materials; equal access to media by all candidates; credible nomination processes; electoral and political violence; and adequate civic and voter education,” Kondowe said.
He also stressed the need to ensure clear timelines for the polls.
“Above all, we will demand clear timelines and contingency measures to safeguard against logistical failures that could undermine the credibility of the polls,” he said.
Kondowe also pointed out the need for Mec to continue fostering transparency and accountability in all electoral processes.
He then commended Mec for briefing Chakwera, saying that reflects institutional transparency and political accountability in compliance with the applicable laws.
“However, this gesture must not be symbolic. It should be matched with genuine efforts to foster stakeholder confidence, ensure timely delivery of electoral processes and uphold the commission’s independence in both perception and practice,” he said.
Meanwhile, a group of other CSOs have written to Mec, expressing concern over the electoral process preparations.
The groups, Concerned Citizens of Malawi, Umodzi for Peace, Justice Economic Freedom Movement, Malawi Freedom Fighters, Concerned Citizens of Malawi, Human Rights Ambassadors and Centre for Democracy Watch, want Mec to address their concerns within seven days.
They say they are concerned with what they claim are widespread reports of irregularities in the voter exercise, which they claim have led to confusion, disenfranchisement and growing public disillusionment.
“Accordingly, we hereby issue a seven-day ultimatum for Mec to respond to these concerns. Failure to do so will leave us with no choice but to return to the people of Malawi to determine the next course of action,” the statement reads.
Mec spokesperson Sangwani Mwafulirwa told The Daily Times that the electoral body has received the letter and that it will address it accordingly.
Last year, Mec rejected opposition parties’ requests to have independent ICT auditors monitor election management systems and for Mec to conduct manual transmission of election results for the September polls.
Mtalimanja said Mec had no plans to have independent ICT auditors due to security reasons.
Recently, the commission said that preliminary figures indicate that at least 7.2 million people had registered for the elections.
Mec also indicated that 60,761 voters transferred their registration to new centres during the initial voter transfer exercise.
The electoral body later held a targeted voter transfer exercise for 19 people whose records had reportedly gone missing.
