Some of the political parties that are featuring candidates in the Mwasa Ward By-election in Mangochi North East Constituency have faulted the Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) for suspending electoral processes for the second time.
Mec launched the electoral calendar for the ward three months ago.
On Tuesday evening, Mec Chief Elections Officer Andrew Mpesi issued a statement in which he announced the cancellation of by-election activities due to some recent disagreements between the electoral body and party followers over voter registration.
Mpesi says Mec will come with a comprehensive approach to resolve all the concerns which people have in Mwasa Ward before resuming the exercise.
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One of the major concerns is Mec’s decision to allow new voters to register for the by elections as opposed to some electoral stakeholders’ wish to have the 2019 voters’ roll maintained.
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For a long time political parties that are taking part in the by-elections have been accusing each other of forcing under-age children to register for the vote after helping them acquire a national identity card from the National Registration Bureau (NRB).
Democratic Progressive Party spokesperson Shadric Namalomba accused NRB of violating its own laws by allowing children to register for the purposes of voting.
And, in reaction to Mec’s latest decision, Namalomba said Mec has acted unilaterally.
“This is unfortunate, more so because Mec has suspended the Mwasa Ward By-election for the second time. Further delays mean prolonged suffering of people from Mwasa Ward, who are currently not represented at the council,” he said.
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United Democratic Front publicity secretary Yusuf Mwawa urged Mec not to be working in isolation when handling electoral matters to avoid creating fear among voters.
“We believe in the independence of Mec and have huge trust in the electoral body to preside over free, fair and credible electoral processes. Granted, their resolve to iron out matters first before conducting the election gives us trust in them,” Mwawa said.
On his part, Malawi Congress Party deputy secretary general Gerald Kazembe said the party respects the commission’s decision to suspend by-election activities because electoral processes need to be trusted by all stakeholders.
“We believe in the independence of institutions of government. We believe that every eligible voter must be accorded their democratic right to register and vote without disenfranchisement. We also believe that Mec must be able to conduct its work in a peaceful and safe environment without fear of vigilantes,” Kazembe said.
