MEC to conduct supplementary voter registration for five days from Monday

* Targeting ONLY eligible voters in Phase I who were not issued with their unique National ID number by close of the voter registration

* After considering the Order and directive of the High Court in its ruling dated October 25, 2024

By Duncan Mlanjira

Following concerns that some eligible voters were unable to register after they were not issued with their unique National ID number by the National Registration Bureau (NRB) by the close of voter registration in Phases I and II, Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) is set to conduct supplementary registration for affected areas and Phase III from Monday, December 16.

A public notice from MEC issued yesterday by director of media & public relations, Sangwani Mwafulirwa, says the Commissioners met on Monday, December 16th where they reviewed and considered

(i) the conduct of all the three Phases of voter registration exercise for the 2025 General Election;

(ii) Section 4 of the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections Act, 2023; and

(iii) the Order and directive of the High Court in its Ruling dated 25th October 2024 in the case of George Chipwaila and Others v. Malawi Electoral Commission and Attorney General (National Registration Bureau) (Civil Cause No. 130 of 2024).

This court Order came regarding availability of civil registration services at voter registration centres, which several electoral stakeholders asked MEC to respect or face contempt of court.

Thus, in order to give effect to the Order, MEC has resolved to conduct the supplementary registration for five days targeting the eligible voters in Phase I that registered or would have registered with the NRB on the date voter registration that commenced from October 21 — but were not issued with their unique National ID number by the close of the voter registration, and were consequently unable to register.

However, there will be no fresh civil registration by NRB at the voter registration centres during the supplementary voter registration exercise in Phase II and III — but NRB staff will be present to provide identification and verification services for applicants that will have challenges with their proof of national registration.

“The Commission will issue specific communication regarding the dates and modalities for the supplementary voter registration exercise,” said the public notice from Mwafulirwa.

The Councils under Phase I are Chitipa, Karonga, Karonga Town, Mzuzu City, Nkhotakota, Ntchisi, Salima, Dedza, Balaka, Machinga, Chiradzulu, Neno, Phalombe and Mulanje.

Phase II had Nkhata Bay, Rumphi, Likoma, Kasungu, Kasungu Municipality, Dowa, Mchinji, Ntcheu, Zomba, Zomba City, Blantyre, Blantyre City, Thyolo and Luchenza.

And for the Phase III, that ended on December 11, they are M’mbelwa (Mzimba), Lilongwe, Lilongwe City, Mangochi, Mangochi Municipality, Mwanza, Chikwawa and Nsanje.

Meanwhile, MEC Chief Elections Officer, Andrew Mpesi reported on Tuesday, December 17 the for Phase III, a total of 2,515,315 were registered of which 1,097551 are male and 1,416,764 female — representing 44% and 56% of the total number registered respectively.

In comparison with the projected number of people in the Councils aged 18 years and above in 2925, which according to National Statistical Office is 3,571,276 (1,689,486 male and 1,881,790 female), the number of registered voters under Phase III represents 70% of the projected population.

Disaggregated by gender, 65% of the projected male population has registered while 75% of the projected female.

Mpesi emphasised that the figures were preliminary and that the public should exercise caution in their use as figures until they have been cleaned, which “may slightly change if duplicate registrations are discovered and the public informed about the same”.

For Phase II, a total of 2,422,595 people registered of which 1,079,523 were males and 1,343,072 females, representing 45% and 55% of the total registered voters, respectively.

Compared to the projected population of 3,963,148 people aged 18, the registered voters represent 61% of the projected population while disaggregated by gender, 57% of the projected male population registered with 65% being the projected females.