Additional constituency proposed for Balaka

MEC chairperson Justice Chifundo Kachale

* We have added Ngwangwa Constituency, which covers the town

* The town was falling under two constituencies with so many eligible voters

By Mary Makhiringa, MANA

Balaka District is being proposed to have an additional political constituency to make it five following the ongoing constituency and ward boundary review exercise being undertaken by Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC).

Speaking on Thursday in Balaka MEC chairperson, Justice Chifundo Kachale, said this was done after considering several factors such as the number of eligible voters spread throughout the constituencies.

“We are proposing a change in the number of constituencies from four to five in Balaka,” Kachale during a stakeholders meeting which attracted several duty bearers such as chiefs, councilors and ordinary citizens.

The stakeholders meetings are aimed at explaining the demarcations of the new constituencies that the Commission has come up with after engaging stakeholders for the past months.

“We have added Ngwangwa Constituency, which covers the town,” he said. “With previous demarcations, the town was falling under two constituencies with so many eligible voters.”

He, however, clarified fears from some stakeholders that some constituencies looked bigger than others, leading into delays in the development of such constituencies.

“Determinants for the size of a constituency are the number of eligible voters. Remember that constituencies are platforms where people are elected to go and serve in Parliament and the basis upon which people are elected is one man, one vote.

“The law in Section 76 of the Constitution gives prominence to the number of eligible voters and according to the calculations we did, the average size of constituencies that we have cannot justify any extra constituency within Balaka,” he said.

Senior Chief Inkosi Chanthunya hailed MEC for the additional constituency, saying this would help the central area to enjoy development which was not possible in the past as legislators were concentrating in rural areas.

However, the Senior Chief expressed dissatisfaction with how the Balaka Mulunguzi Constituency has been demarcated.

“It is a very big area — it combines two traditional authorities which will make the person representing the area have hard times as he or she will have to represent a very big area.

“It could have been better if part of this constituency was given to Ngwangwa Constituency which has a small geographical area even though MEC is saying this is so because the area is highly populated,” he said.

MEC embarked on the constituency and ward demarcation exercise programme last year, which is a requirement by law and is targeted for the 2025 elections that will take into consideration eligible voters that would turn 18 on the day of the elections.

The last undertaking of the review of Constituency and Ward boundary exercise that determined the current 193 seats in Parliament was carried out 13 years ago in 1998 — failing to meet the country’s Constitutional requirement of after every five years.

The last review was in 2008, 10 years after the 1998 exercise but, according to the pollster, it was not approved by Parliament as per Constitutional requirement.

The exercise is very important that after every five years the Commission should make sure that all constituencies are equal in the numbers of voters by accommodating the eligible ones that would turn 18 on the day of the next elections.

The activities on constituency and ward boundary review for 2022 year included:

a. Review of the boundary scenarios by the Commission from the councils and to choose the preliminary map for each council (January);

b. Printing of the preliminary maps for each council (January and February);

c. Display and viewing of the preliminary maps in public places including council offices, hospitals, markets and T/A headquarters and other strategic places (February) — the aim was to offer an opportunity for the public to view how the proposed boundaries will come out like and make representation, if any, that are in line with the law;

d. Public hearings in all the councils to get feedback from all stakeholders on the preliminary maps which will have been displayed (February). The public hearings took place between April and May.

e. The Commission to hold targeted meetings with other stakeholders including political parties and civil society organisations (June-July);

f. The feedback from the consultative meetings will be considered by the Commission and incorporated into the first final draft of the boundary review report.

g. Before submission of the report to Parliament, the Commission will hold a meeting with Members of Parliament (July). This will be an opportunity for the Commission to explain, clarify and respond to queries from the MPs regarding the report;

h. The Commission will submit final report to the National Assembly for approval (October 2022).—Additional reporting by Duncan Mlanjira, Maravi Express