MEC impressed with new voter registration equipment’s performance

* Phase one and two of voter registration process has ended well due to the new voter registration equipment

* The main aim for the pilot registration was to test the operational efficiency of the equipment

* We didn’t have significant challenges that can threaten the actual registration which starts on October 21, 2024

By Benedicto Maguda, MANA

Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) director of media & public relations Sangwani Mwafulirwa has expressed satisfaction with performance of the voter registration equipment, saying it will improve 2025 voter registration.

In an interview yesterday, Mwafulirwa said phase one and two of voter registration process has ended well due to the new voter registration equipment which he said helped minimise challenges associated with voter registration.

“It has been a successful exercise and our machines have performed effectively,” he said. “We didn’t have significant challenges that can threaten the actual registration which starts on October 21, 2024.”

Mwafulirwa further said the main aim for the pilot registration was to test the operational efficiency of the equipment which will be used in the 2025 general elections and he also hailed the turnout of people for the registration which he said was impressive.

“We may not have had huge lines the way it happens when we are holding a fresh election, but the people who came for the registration were enough.”

He, therefore, urged people to register with National Registration Bureau (NRB) because with the new voter registration system, anyone without national identity cards will not be allowed to vote in the 2025 general elections.

National coordinator for Catholic Commission for Justice & Peace (CCJP), Boniface Chibwana, concurred with Mwafulirwa, saying pilot registration phases which MEC implemented will help to address problems associated with voter registration.

“As CCJP, we have been moving in different places where the registration was happening. We have noted that due to newly launched equipment, challenges like poor pictures have been minimised and the equipment are user friendly to people living with disabilities,” Chibwana said.

Some of the districts that pilot voter registration first phase was implemented are Blantyre City, Balaka, Dedza and Mzuzu City which run from September 13-14 while the second phase was from September 18-19 in Chitipa, Neno, Lilongwe City and Nsanje.

Last month, MEC had engagement meeting with development partners, civil society organisations (CSOs) and the media on electoral processes where MEC chairperson, Annabel Mtalimanja expressed confidence in the new electoral management devices (EMDs).

Mtalimanja assured that the EMDs are reliable and secure, saying “all the data will be secure because one of the issues that raise concern is the issue surrounding security and I can assure Malawians that the devices are secure and the system is secure.”

She added that the equipment would be used anywhere in the country including in the remotest areas regardless of power challenges, saying they come with the power banks that run the devices in the areas where there is no electricity.

She also said MEC has introduced the device to ensure that every eligible voter with national ID card or proof of National Registration Bureau is able to register and take part in voting during the upcoming general election.

In an interview with Malawi News Agency (MANA), Women Legal Resources Centre (WOLREC) Executive Director, Maggie Kathewera hailed MEC for introducing the EMDs, saying: “We are living in a technologically advanced world and the adoption of EMDs is something that has to be commended.”

MEC engagement meeting attracted representatives from various CSOs including WOLREC, Oxfam Malawi, Cise Malawi as well as Media Council of Malawi and Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Malawi Chapter.—Editing by Maravi Express