Commissioner Kasaira, responsible for three districts of Balaka, Machinga and Neno
* Many of the centres have already passed the 500 mark which is not the case in Machinga and Neno
* MEC Commissioner Francis Kasaira calls for more effort especially on civic education so that no one is left behind
* As MEC chairperson Justice Annabel Mtalimanja expressed satisfaction with the voter registration turnout in Dedza District
By Mary Makhiringa & Zenak Matekenya, MANA
Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) commissioner, Francis Kasaira — responsible for three districts of Balaka, Machinga and Neno, yesterday commended Balaka District Council, for what he described as servant dedication for the overwhelming registration it is recording.
Kasaira made the remarks at Zammimba Primary School in the district after conducting a two-day tour to registration centres where he commended Balaka District election supervisory committee (DEST) for the tremendous figures that he had seen in the centres.
“This is day three of the first phase of the registration exercise but many of the centres have already passed the 500 mark which is not the case in Machinga and Neno,” he said.
Kasaira, therefore, called for more effort as the exercise progresses especially on civic education so that no one is left behind.
Balaka District Commissioner, Tamanya Harawa hailed MEC for the supervisory visit, saying it has further encouraged DEST members to engage an extra gear: “We normally work in collaboration, we always converge when challenged so that we map the way forward.”
Balaka is among the districts in phase one of the 2025 general elections registration and a random survey conducted by Malawi News Agency (MANA) on Tuesday revealed that despite the communication gap that most communities have expressed on the voter registration, more people are flooding to the registration centres.
Interacting with possible voters at Mseche Primary School revealed that people are mistaking the voter registration for relief food items registration which was also underway in the district a few days ago.
“I came upon hearing from a colleague that it is a voter registration and not the other,” said Alefa Mbawa. “I have then notified more people since we still have many days before the end of the registration period.”
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As of Tuesday afternoon, in most centres that MANA visited, data showed that they had passed over 100 accumulative figures from Monday, which was the start of the registration.
Balaka District Elections Officer, Harry Yohane said despite everything, the district has received massive support and people are coming out in numbers to register.
“We have 202 registration centres in Balaka District and all of them rolled out on Monday. “Our civic education team is currently on the ground, day and night sensitizing the public on this very important exercise,” he said.
However, Balaka Police arrested Harry Yohane for registering as a voter using another persons national identity card on Monday, as confirmed by Balaka Police Station Officer In-Charge, Dan Saunten, who said the incident happened at Namingalala Primary School registration centre in Shire Ward under Mulunguzi Constituency.
It was reported that M’bwana Matiki, 19, from Mbawa village in Chief Kalembo’s area went to this centre to register as a voter together with his father, Hassan Matiki, 57, of the same particulars.
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After the father registered, the suspect requested his father to give him his ID for safekeeping: “It was after taking the father’s ID when the suspect went to the registration desk and he successfully completed the whole registration process.
“As the registration officer was trying to produce a voting slip, it was noticed on the slip that the age was not corresponding with his age. After being questioned, the suspect revealed that he used the national ID of his father but without his knowledge.
Meanwhile, the suspect is in police custody at Balaka Police Station pending further investigation and in a related development, the police arrested two people for similar offences in Mfulanjobvu on Tuesday.
In an interview with MANA, the accused Ida Banda (21) and Chimwemwe Rathael (22), revealed that they thought the registration was for lean season food relief distribution.
“When we heard last night that we were supposed to take our IDs to register, we thought it is maize for lean season,” he said. “I took my mother’s ID and told Ida to take another one for my father in-law and we all completed the registration process.”
The two have since been taken to Balaka Police Station for further questioning.
Justice Annabel Mtalimanja in Dedza
Meanwhile, MEC chairperson, Justice Annabel Mtalimanja was in Dedza District on Wednesday where she expressed satisfaction with the voter registration turnout.
She made the observation a day after National Initiative for Civic Education and the Catholic Commission for Peace & Justice called for more voter registration awareness in the district after being concerned with low turnout.
“We have generally good turnout. In some centres, the numbers are very huge. We have had to deploy extra operators just to ensure that people are not queuing for too long,” she said after touring several centres.
Justice Mtalimanja said MEC is confident that at the end of 14 days, Dedza and all the phase one districts will have good registration — adding that though there were a few challenges with the deployment of materials, all centres were able to open by 8am.
She added that a contingent plan to ensure the availability of fuel for running generators also contributed to the effective implementation of the exercise.
Mtalimanja then downplayed claims that some people were sent back due to identification failure but pointed out that the challenge with QR code scanning on Monday was resolved by National Registration Bureau (NRB) technicians and everyone was able to register.
“No person has been sent back because of the challenge with an ID number. So far we have had no challenge that has affected the exercise,” she said, emphasising that the new equipment is able to capture people faster and able to record bio-metrics which is critical for the credibility of the voter register.
NRB Principal Secretary, Mphatso Sambo said their role in the registration process has started successfully as they have deployed at least an officer to each and every voter registration centre and has a pool of standby staff.
Mphatso Sambo
Sambo added that NRBs role as stipulated by the law is to provide proof of identification right at the centre as the law requires only those with national identity from NRB as eligible to register and vote in the general election.
“Anyone who registered with NRB is in our database. When someone has an issue they go to the NRB desk to report the matter. Such issues could be a broken ID or an ID which is not working with MEC equipment or maybe lost ID and many other things concerning the ID,” he said.
There are 266 registration centres in Dedza where registration for the 2025 general elections started on Monday, October 21 and is expected to close on November 3.
In Mulanje MEC commissioner Rev. Philip Kambulire commended the great momentum that the district has started with in its voter registration exercise: “Since the exercise started, we have had many people flocking to various registration centres.
“One issue we have noted is that because most people work in tea estates, they have been coming as the centres are about to close. So we have engaged estate managers to find a way of releasing them in good time so that their work should also not suffer.”
He appealed to people who are eligible to go and register for them to be able to exercise their right of voting on September 16, 2025.—Reporting in Mulanje by Innocent Chamtulo, MANA; editing by Maravi Express
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