* 229 Parliamentary Constituencies (up from 193 in 2019)
* 509 Council Wards (up from 462 in 2019)
Maravi Express
Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has submitted its gazette notice for new constituency boundaries, registration centres, constituency tally centres and district tally centres.
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In summary there are 229 Parliamentary Constituencies (up from 193 in 2019); 509 Council Wards (up from 462 in 2019) and 6,344 registration centres (up from 5,002 in 2019)
Constituency tally centres for receiving and tabulating results from polling stations are at 229; district tally centres for receiving results from the constituency tally centres at 36 and one national tally centre for confirming and declaring official election results.
In its public statement, MEC says the total number of polling stations for 2025 General Elections will be known at the conclusion of the voter registration exercise and building of new voter register.
“The Commission will also communicate the final number. Take note that the polling stations will be located in the registration centres released now, or any amendments that may follow.”
Under its Constitutional mandate, MEC started the review of Constituency and Ward boundary exercise in 2021, whose previous review that determined the current 193 seats in Parliament was carried out 13 years ago in 1998 — failing to meet the country’s Constitution requirement of after every five years.
The last review to meet the Constitutional requirement was in 2008, 10 years after the 1998 exercise but, according to MEC during interface engagements with various stakeholders, it was not approved by Parliament as per requirement.
If approved, the review is set for the 2025 tripartite elections that will take into consideration eligible voters that would turn 18 on the day of the elections.
At a media workshop as part of the stakeholder interactive sensitization process which MEC also undertook with other partners such as political parties, NGOs, district councils, traditional and faith leaders, National Statistical Office (NSO) among others, MEC’s legal counsel, David Matumika Banda said the exercise was very important that after every five years the pollster 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.
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