* To provide for polling staff, representatives of candidates and political parties and officers from security agencies to vote at polling stations where they are deployed
Maravi Express
In accordance with Section 67(4) of the Constitution of Malawi, President Lazarus Chakwera has called for Parliament to reconvene on August 5 to amend the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections Act (No. 10 of 2023) in order to provide for polling staff, representatives of candidates and political parties and officers from security agencies to vote at polling stations where they are deployed.
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The President has invoked his powers that allows him to reconvene Parliament after its dissolution on July 23, 2025 in response to an urgent constitutional matter relating to the right to vote, as enshrined in Section 40(3) of the Constitution.
The issue requires immediate legislative action ahead of the general elections scheduled for September 16 and according to insiders, There are an approximate total of 50,000 people who will be involved in the voting logistics/process.
They include Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) staff at various locations, polling centre personnel deployed from far places, police and military security personnel deployed to polling centre or other strategic locations, political party monitors, and others — who will by reason of job posting be away from where they registered.
The current law says that one can only vote where they registered or transferred to and this law entails that the above listed individuals may be denied the right to vote.
This part of the law is what will be reviewed to allow them the right to vote at the centre they will be deployed to which being away from the centre they registered or transferred to.
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