By Pemphero Malimba:
The Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) has rejected a request made by one of the electoral stakeholders, Chisankho Watch, to access both the preliminary and updated voters’ register for the September 16, 2025 Local Government, Parliamentary and Presidential Elections.
This is contained in a letter signed by Mec Chief elections officer Andrew Mpesi dated June 5, 2025 and directed to Chisankho Watch Chairperson.
On May 2, 2025, Chisankho Watch Chairperson Bishop Gilford Matonga wrote Mec, informing the electoral body that they wanted to conduct an independent Voter List Verification (VLV) to assess the accuracy, completeness and up-to-dateness of the voter register ahead of the forthcoming elections.
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“As you know, the voters’ roll plays a critical role in an election and therefore it is essential for observers to be able to independently assess the quality of the voters’ roll as part of their overall observation effort,” he said.
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He assured the commission that the organisation would use the information accordingly.
“We assure the commission that the voters’ roll will be used solely for the purposes of this verification and in accordance with applicable data protection and confidentiality standards. We understand that by definition no voters’ roll is perfect. Our objective is to provide independent information….
“Our findings will be shared transparently to support Mec’s ongoing efforts to ensure a free, fair and credible electoral process. The coalition will share the information confidentially with Mec to enable the commission to take any necessary action in advance of releasing a public report,” Matonga said.
According to the organisation, independent VLVs are conducted by citizen observers around the world to help build confidence in elections.
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“We believe this is an important exercise to assist in upholding the integrity of the electoral process and improve public trust. Our verification will help identify potential areas for strengthening the voters’ register and will contribute constructively to the commission’s ongoing preparations for credible elections,” he said in the letter.
However, Mpesi says Mec cannot grant the request after considering law-related issues as stipulated in sections 20 and 21 of the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections Act of 2023.
“Pursuant to this legal mandate, the commission duly made the voters’ register available for inspection by electoral stakeholders and election observers including Chisankho Watch at all registration centres, where [the] registration of voters took place and at its regional offices from the period which the commission prescribed for the purpose,” Mpesi says.
He says Mec also conducted verification on mobile phones to ease the process.
“The commission is therefore unable to release the voters’ register or, indeed, any extracts of the voters’ register in any format or for any purpose beyond what is envisaged under the Act,” Mpesi says.
He adds that the commission is working in tandem with laws to maintain the integrity and confidentiality of voters’ information.
This comes after the commission also rejected a proposal from some opposition political parties.
The five political parties—Democratic Progressive Party, People’s Party, Alliance for Democracy, UTM and United Democratic Front— wanted an independent audit of the Elections Management System (EMS) as part of efforts to enhance election integrity.
In a response to the parties, Mec Chairperson, Judge Annabel Mtalimanja, said the commission found the concept note and scope of the independent audit of Mec’s EMS to be structurally flawed, technically misinformed, legally unsound and operationally unfeasible.
“The scope and assumptions presented in the document have been deemed insufficient to form the basis for an externally commissioned audit of the EMS,” Mtalimanja said.
