By Clever Mwale:
The Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) says it is fully prepared for today’s by-elections with all polling stations having received the required election materials, no operational challenges reported and enhanced safeguards put in place to protect the integrity of the vote.
Mec chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja made the declaration after completing a day-long pre-inspection exercise across all polling centres during which election officials verified polling materials and ensured polling staff and candidate monitors were ready for the exercise.
Mtalimanja said the commission has strengthened transparency and accountability by maintaining dual systems for both voter verification and the transmission of election results.
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“We have the biometric voter verification devices as well as the physical voters’ registers and the results will also be transported physically and transmitted electronically to the National Tally Centre,” she said.
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Mtalimanja said the contingency measures were designed to eliminate last-minute logistical challenges and ensure every polling station was fully equipped before voting began.
She added that the commission had not received any reports of challenges from polling stations in the two parliamentary by-election constituencies, the constituency holding a fresh parliamentary election and the two local government ward by-elections.
Election monitor Patience Kabambe described the campaign period as peaceful, saying political parties and independent candidates had conducted their campaigns without major incidents.
Kabambe said this had raised hopes for a calm voting process and wider acceptance of the outcome.
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He also urged candidates to adequately support their monitors, warning that poor welfare had previously contributed to some monitors abandoning polling stations before the counting of votes and the signing of official results forms.
Meanwhile, Constituency Returning Officer for Lilongwe City Bwaila Loyce Mponda assured stakeholders that the voting process would not disrupt the ongoing Malawi School Certificate of Education examinations being administered at one of the polling centres.
“There are separate security officers and designated areas for both the examinations and the Mec exercise,” Mponda said.
Today’s elections include parliamentary by-elections in Lilongwe City Bwaila and Machinga Mikoko constituencies and a fresh parliamentary election in Balaka Mulunguzi Constituency.
There are also local government by-elections in Uliwa Ward in Karonga South Constituency and Kanjuli Ward in Machinga Central East Constituency.
