By Pemphero Malimba:
The Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) has recruited 1,520 Election Management Device (EMD) operators to oversee the supplementary voter registration exercise, which will commence on January 10, 2024, in various parts of the country.
The electoral body has released the list of the operators.
Mec will conduct the exercise to accommodate only those eligible voters who have registered, or will have registered, with the National Registration Bureau (NRB) from October 21, 2024— the date voter registration first began.
In phases two and three, the exercise will focus solely on eligible voters who had applied for civil registration at voter registration centres but were unable to obtain their unique national identity (ID) card numbers by the end of the voter registration period.
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As a result, these people could not complete their voter registration.
According to an earlier statement from the commission, there will be no fresh civil registration by NRB at voter registration centres during phases two and three.
However, NRB staff will be present to provide identification and verification services to applicants who face issues with their national registration documentation.
Mec spokesperson Sangwani Mwafulirwa told The Daily Times Sunday that the EMD operators would be transitioned between phases based on discipline, work habits, performance and availability.
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“The operators have been recruited based on the number required for each phase. For example, phase two will have more centres than phase one, so additional staff will be needed.
“It is important to note that during the voter registration exercise, we engaged larger numbers of operators because we opened all centres, some of which had multiple teams,” Mwafulirwa said.
He added that for the supplementary voter registration, each centre will only have one team.
According to Mec, the contracts for the operators engaged during the original registration period were for that period and have now concluded.
Mwafulirwa also assured that the commission was fully prepared to conduct a credible exercise.
He appealed to election stakeholders to follow communication from Mec, particularly regarding who is eligible to register, stressing that “not everyone who missed out last time will be eligible.”
Mwafulirwa added that Mec’s transport and logistics team was taking steps to ensure that the exercise would not be affected by fuel shortages.
“We conducted the initial voter registration under similar conditions and we succeeded. We are confident that we will overcome the challenges and ensure a smooth supplementary registration process,” he said.
Executive Director of the Centre for Multiparty Democracy, Boniface Chibwana, urged eligible voters to take part in the exercise.
“People should turn out in large numbers to register and ensure they can vote for the leaders of their choice on September 16, 2025,” Chibwana said.
He also called on Mec to address challenges encountered during the initial registration process.
“We have been in regular discussions with the commission and we believe that many of the challenges pointed out by political parties during the initial exercise will be resolved in the supplementary registration,” he said.
Mec carried out the initial voter registration from October 21 to December 11, 2024.
Last month, both governing Malawi Congress Party and opposition parties, including the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and United Democratic Front, expressed concerns regarding various challenges faced during the first phases, with some calling for an extension of the voter registration period.
For instance, DPP spokesperson Shadric Namalomba highlighted issues such as fuel shortages and delays in the availability of national ID registration services in some centres, which he believed warranted an extension.
The supplementary voter registration will take place in Mzimba, Lilongwe District, Lilongwe City, Mangochi District, Mangochi Municipality, Mwanza, Chikwawa and Nsanje Districts—where phase three of the initial registration was carried out—from January 10 to 14, 2025.
The exercise will then move to Nkhata Bay, Rumphi, Likoma, Kasungu, Kasungu Municipality, Dowa, Mchinji, Ntcheu, Zomba and Zomba City—from January 20 to 24, 2025—where phase two of the initial registration took place.
The exercise will conclude in Chitipa, Karonga, Karonga Town, Mzuzu City, Nkhotakota, Ntchisi, Salima, Dedza, Balaka, Machinga, Chiradzulu, Neno, Phalombe and Mulanje—from January 30 to February 3, 2025—where phase one of the original voter registration was conducted.
Preliminary figures from the commission suggest that over seven million people registered during all three phases of the initial voter registration across the country.
Malawians are expected to go to the polls on September 16 this year, where they will elect a president, Members of Parliament and ward councillors.
