Fears over MEC funding

Despite receiving only K9 billion of the budgeted K42 billion few months to the polls, MEC has allayed fears of the chaos that defined the 2014 elections.

But the Malawi Electoral Support Network (Mesn) has since questioned the rationale behind MEC’s budget, asking the electoral body to justify it.

Speaking  in an interview yesterday after the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) launched the 2019 Tripartite Elections in Lilongwe,  commissioner Moffat Banda expressed hope that the commission would not be starved as was the case during the 2014 polls after it was revealed that cooperating partners failed to meet almost half of their budgeted for support.

Banda, who is chairperson of the commission’s media and civic education committee, said he hoped this time government and all partners would continue releasing funds for the commission to successfully and timely perform its duties up to the polling day.

During 2014, partners contributed to the electoral mess because of their inefficient handling of their roles, resulting in the shortage of electoral materials, late printing of ballots, sending wrong ballot papers to polling stations and late distribution of voting materials, among others.

MEC budgeted for K18.5 billion for the 2014 elections whose 40 percent was supposed to be contributed by donors. Unfortunately, they only managed to pump in 22 percent which was mostly for paying for voting materials.

But Banda said government has already released K9 billion out of their total elections budget of K42 billion.

“This money was already given to us and it is the one we have been using for various activities from the moment we announced that we were planning our business as a cycle and not an event,” he said.

Added Banda: “I would not say it was enough or not because sometimes we have been adjusting to ensure that we meet our plans… but it was enough for the operations we have carried out so far.”

He also said the commission wrote government outlining its activities and the required funds for specific periods, a request that had been honoured.

“So, with that it is evident that government is ready to fulfil its pledge and we hope the remaining K32 billion-plus will also be released without problems,” said Banda.

On the K3.3 billion pledge from the donor community through basket fund, he said part of it had already been disbursed to the commission and there was also a possibility that more funds would come from them.

However,  Mesn chairperson Steve Duwa expressed reservations on MEC electoral budget which he described as bloated.

He said for the sake of transparency and accountability, MEC should justify how it will need K42 billion to run the elections, when K18 billion sufficed for a similar poll in 2014.

“We find this a bit problematic,” said Duwa of the big budget upshot in the face of a steady kwacha, manageable inflation and when most of the equipment and other poll support materials will be reused.

Duwa—who is also chairperson of the Council for Non-Governmental Organisations in Malawi (Congoma)—wondered whether government and its development partners would meet the K42 billion budget on time.

“Some of the activities on the electoral calendar may suffer if there will be funding delays and gaps, like had been the case in the 2014 elections,” he stated.

But National Elections System Trust (Nest) Unandi Banda executive director said, they, as stakeholders, applauded government for showing commitment to funding the elections.

According to the electoral calendar MEC launched yesterday, registration of voters is expected to start mid this year.

MEC chairperson Justice Jane Ansah said the commission will not procure hand-held devices as stated earlier, but will use the same biometric registration kits (BRKs) used by National Registration Bureau. n