The Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) has said it will use more funds to carry out phase one voter registration extension exercises.
It is widely expected that the electoral body would do the task after the completion of the current, and third, phase— which happens to be the last one.
Mec Chairperson, Judge Annabel Mtalimanja, disclosed this yesterday when she, and other Mec officials, monitored the registration exercise at some centres in Mzimba North.
Mtalimanja, who has not been specific on the issue of cost, said she was sure that the budget for phase one extension would double from what the electoral body used earlier.
Mtalimanja was quick to say funds for the extended exercise were available.
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“As we already indicated, the commission agreed that we should extend the registration [exercise] for the first phase
and we will soon announce the specific day and period it will take place. The extension will require extra resources because we will be re-doing [the exercise in] all the councils and it means we will spend double of what we used last time,” Mtalimanja said.
She further said the commission was reviewing phase two and that, soon, it would announce if it were proper to extend the exercise, too.
During their visit to Ekwendeni Primary School centre, Mec officials sent out a Democratic Progressive Party monitor because she was with a one-month-old baby inside the registration room.
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According to them, it was not healthy to keep a baby in a congested room.
Meanwhile, one of the people who registered, Anes Ngulube, said she did not face any challenge with the process.
“The machines are working properly,” Ngulube said.
Phase three of voter registration will end on December 11 this year.
