Supplementary voter registration to cost MEC K7 billion

* First phase of the voter registration will run from Tuesday to Wednesday (January 21 to 22)

* Second phase from January 27-28 while the third phase February 2-3 from 08h00 to 16h00

By Memory Chatonda, MANA

Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has earmarked K7 billion to successfully conduct a supplementary voter registration exercise in 1,974 centres across the country.

At a press briefing in Blantyre, MEC chairperson, Justice Annabel Mtalimanja said the funds are sufficient to conduct the exercise which is crucial for a smooth transition between the electoral process stages.

“The initial voter registration exercise had 6,039 centres which registered about 7,162,127 from the projected 10,957,490,” she said. “This supplementary voter registration has 1,974 centres and we anticipate registering at least 271,854 voters so that they can exercise their constitutional right to cast their vote during the polling date.

“So far, the commission has set aside K7 billion to support the exercise ahead of the September 16 general elections.”

Mtalimanja advised electoral stakeholders to take full responsibility for disseminating information to the public so that those who are eligible to register during the exercise can get registered.

According to Mtalimanja, the centres will be open from 08h00 to 16h00 and Mtalimanja thus encouraged voters to present themselves at convenient times: “These centres have been established where people can easily go and register because we want every eligible voter to participate.”

The first phase of the voter registration will run from Tuesday to Wednesday (January 21 to 22); targeting Mzimba, Lilongwe, Lilongwe City, Mangochi Municipality, Mangochi, Mwanza, Chikwawa and Nsanje.

The second phase which will run from January 27-28, targets Nkhata Bay, Rumphi, Likoma, Kasungu, Kasungu Municipality, Dowa, Mchinji, Ntcheu, Zomba, Zomba City, Blantyre, Blantyre City, Nthyolo and Luncheza.

While the third phase, February 2-3, covers Chitipa, Karonga, Karonga Town, Mzuzu City, Nkhotakota, Ntchisi, Salima, Dedza, Balaka, Machinga, Chiradzulu, Neno and Mulanje.

Mtalimanja also indicated that on January 10, the National Registration Bureau (NRB) announced that from the civil registration exercise which took place from October 21 to January 4, 373,996 people were registered — out of which 70 people are under investigation to see if they qualify for national IDs while 271,784 are already eligible to register with MEC.

She assured the public that MEC has already put all the necessary and adequate equipment and staff in all the centres for the smooth implementation of the exercise.

She, however, emphasised that during the supplementary voter registration exercise, no person will be allowed to register with the NRB if they failed to register from October 21 to January 4 with the NRB.

Mtalimanja, therefore, advised the general public to continue abiding by electoral laws as the country is preparing for the September 16 elections.

The High Court on October 25, 2024 ruled that there should be a supplementary voter registration exercise to address two major issues; eligible voters who did not have access to NRB services during Phase 1 and those in Phases 2 and 3 who applied for national IDs but could not register due to delays in receiving their unique identification numbers.