The press briefing yesterday in Lilongwe
* Phase III Councils January 10-14; Phase II Councils: January 20-24 and Phase I Councils January 30 to February 3
* Supplementary civil registration to be conducted for a period of 7 days in some Councils from tomorrow, December 29 to January 4
* This is not an extension of the voter registration exercise but supplementary to give effect to the order of the Court
* By giving opportunity to persons that failed to register as voters in some Councils
By Duncan Mlanjira
Supplementary voter registration for eligible voters who were unable to register due to unavailability of services from National Registration Bureau (NRB) is being scheduled for January 10-14 for Phase III Councils; January 20-24 for Phase II Councils and January 30 to February 3 for Phase I Councils.
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There will also be an advance civil registration exercise of people who would have registered from October 21, 2024 in some Phase 1 Councils, which will be conducted for a period of 7 days from tomorrow, December 29 to January 4.
This was announced yesterday by Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson, Justice Annabel Mtalimanja during a joint press briefing with the NRB, which she explained is to honour the order made on October 25, 2024, by the High Court sitting at the Principal Registry in the case of George Chipwaila and others, Civil Cause No. 130 of 2024.
The Court ordered that the NRB should immediately take steps and put in place adequate mechanisms that would ensure that persons who meet the eligibility criteria set by section 77 of the Constitution and present themselves at the Commission’s registration centres, but do not have proof of eligibility issued to them by it, are assisted to register in its database and given a unique identifier in line with the requirements of section 12 of the Act and then allowed to register as voters thereafter with the Commission.
MEC commenced the 2025 General Elections’ voter registration on October 21 in Phase 1 Councils, which had NRB officials providing identification and verification services to those citizens who were duly registered with the NRB but whose national identity cards were lost, defaced, or could not be read by the EMDs for one reason or the other.
Mtalimanja reported that some eligible Malawians were unable to register due to unavailability of civil registration services at voter registration centres in Phase 1 Councils and for some in Phase 2 and 3 Councils, because their unique identification numbers had not been issued at the close of registration in those Phases.
“Therefore, in order to give effect to the Order of the court of 25th October, 2024 by addressing the challenges highlighted above, the Commission will conduct the supplementary voter registration.
“The Commission wishes to emphasise that this is not an extension of the voter registration exercise but it is supplementary, being conducted to give effect to the order of the Court by giving opportunity to persons that failed to register as voters because:
1. They failed to register with the NRB when they presented themselves at the voter registration centres in Phase 1 Councils because NRB had not yet deployed teams to the registration centres to register those without national IDs.
Thus, in Phase 1 Councils the supplementary voter registration will target only those persons that would have registered with the NRB from 21st October 2024, the date voter registration commenced;
2. In Phases 2 and 3 Councils, some eligible voters presented themselves at voter registration centres and applied for civil registration with the NRB, but were not issued with their unique National ID number by the close of the voter registration, and were consequently unable to register as voters.
Thus, in Phase 2 and 3 Councils the supplementary voter registration will target only this category of persons;
3. The NRB has advised the Commission that the process of issuance of unique national identification numbers to those that accessed civil registration service during the voter registration period has now been finalised.
Justice Annabel Mtalimanja during voter registration exercise in Dedza
Justice Mtalimanja further announced that “to implement the supplementary voter registration smoothly and in particular to avoid the challenge of issuance of unique national identification numbers for those persons applying for civil registration for the first time after voter registration period has closed, it is imperative for the NRB to have sufficient lead time”.
“This is on account of the NRB advisory that a fresh application takes a minimum of 24 hours to process. To effectively manage the two distinct processes, the NRB will make arrangements to conduct advance civil registration of those persons who would have registered from 21st October, 2024.”
The Phase 1 Councils are Chitipa, Karonga, Karonga Town, Mzuzu City, Nkhotakota, Ntchisi, Salima, Dedza, Balaka, Machinga, Chiradzulu, Neno, Phalombe and Mulanje, whose supplementary civil registration will be conducted for a period of 7 days from tomorrow.
After the NRB has completed the supplementary civil registration, MEC will then conduct supplementary voter registration in Phase II — Nkhata Bay, Rumphi, Likoma, Kasungu, Kasungu Municipality, Dowa, Mchinji, Ntcheu, Zomba, Zomba City, Blantyre, Blantyre City, Thyolo and Luchenza.
Phase II has M’mbelwa (Mzimba), Lilongwe, Lilongwe City, Mangochi, Mangochi Municipality, Mwanza, Chikwawa and Nsanje.
President Lazarus Chakwera and the First Lady registering
“This supplementary voter registration will be for those who presented themselves at voter registration centres to access civil registration with NRB for the purposes of registering as voters as ordered by the Court,” further emphasised Justice Mtalimanja.
“The Commission has been informed that the persons who presented themselves at voter registration centres but were unable to register because the NRB was yet to be issued with unique identification numbers, have now been issued with unique identification numbers — which makes them eligible to register to vote.
“The Commission wishes to urge this category of people to come and register during the supplementary voter registration on the dates. As we roll out the supplementary voter registration, the Commission is calling on all Malawians to cooperate with the MEC and NRB teams.
“This exercise must be done in order to ensure that every eligible person who would have registered in Phase 1 Councils but for lack of a national identity card and those who presented themselves at voter registration centres and applied for the national identity card but were unable to complete the registration because they were yet to be issued a unique identity number in Phase 2 and 3 Councils, should be afforded an opportunity to register to vote, in accordance with the law.”
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She added that political parties were duly informed of the supplementary voter registration as indispensable partners in the electoral process, saying MEC “values their role in ensuring smooth implementation of electoral processes, including voter registration”.
“Now, the Commission is calling on all political parties and those that intend to contest as independents to deploy their representatives to monitor the supplementary voter registration exercise as required by law.
“Political party representatives will play a critical role in enhancing the credibility of the registration process by observing and reporting on the activities at registration centers.
Stakeholders present at the press briefing
“Political parties that wish to make changes to their list of representatives are advised to notify the respective MEC district offices as soon as possible to ensure a smooth process and to avoid any unnecessary disruptions.”
She reminded all those targeted in the supplementary voter registration to present themselves at the voter registration centres on the scheduled dates, between 08h00am and 16h00 with 16h00pm being MEC’s EMDs stopping registering people on the last day of supplementary voter registration.
“The Commission is urging all Malawians to respect the rules and procedures governing this process. By doing so, we contribute to the integrity of the 2025 General Election and strengthen our democracy.”
Justice Mtalimanja also extended MEC’s deep gratitude to all Malawians who took the time to register to vote during the voter registration exercise that was conducted from October 21 to December 11, 2024, saying: “Your commitment to fulfilling this civic duty and responsibility demonstrates your dedication to Malawi’s democracy and your belief in the power of your vote.”
