Up to 30 000 students risk not voting in the September 16 General Election after being excluded from the scope of special groups allowed to vote away from centres where they registered.
Parliament on August 5 this year amended the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections Act to recognise polling staff, security personnel deployed by Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) and representatives of political parties and candidates as special groups. However, proposals to include students, journalists and other stakeholders were excluded from the final amendment.
The Secondary School Teachers Union (SESTU) has faulted the omission, arguing it will deny many students their right to vote.
SESTU president Pilirani Kapolo said that most of the affected students are boarders who registered at their schools but will be on holiday when voting takes place.
“During the transfer period, learners were still at school and it was assumed they would remain there during voting. But schools will be closed during the elections. We expected MEC to devise a way to enable students to vote,” he said.
Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) Malawi Chapter has also raised concerns, warning that excluding journalists undermines their right to participate and weakens electoral transparency.
Misa Malawi chairperson Golden Matonga said: “Excluding the media will affect participation and accountability. Journalists must be allowed to vote in areas where they are deployed.”
Civil Society Elections Integrity Forum chairperson Benedicto Kondowe backed SESTU’s demands, stressing that approximately 30 000 students could be disenfranchised.
Responding to the complaints, MEC spokesperson Sangwani Mwafulirwa said the commission sympathises with the affected groups but must comply with the law.
“While the commission sympathises with the situation and understands the reasoning behind such calls, proceeding without a change in the law would amount to breaking the law,” he said.
Civil society organisations say the issue highlights the need for comprehensive electoral reforms after the polls to ensure that students, journalists, and other disadvantaged groups are not excluded from voting in future elections.
