MEC commended on improved voters roll
Electoral stakeholders have hailed the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) for registering improvement in the voters roll verification process, saying there are minimal problems noted during the just started exercise.
National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) Trust executive director Ollen Mwalubunju said in an interview that though the verification process was not without hitches, there was improvement that showed MEC had addressed the anomalies that were there.
Mwalubunju said though the turn-out was not impressive, MEC gave the verification exercise enough time that all registered voters get their names checked in the voters’ roll.
“Many people did not turn up for verification in most centres. I think it was because during the 2009 general elections even people who did not go for the verification exercise were allowed to vote but this is not good because it takes away the whole essence of the verification process,” said Mwalubunju.
Centre for Human Rights Rehabilitation (CHRR) information officer Fletcher Simwaka said the way MEC carried itself throughout the voters’ roll verification exercise shows that it is ready to conduct the country’s first ever tripartite elections.
“Though the voters’ roll verification exercise has not been as expected, there were improvements and the onus is now on MEC to conduct a free, fair and credible election,” said Simwaka.
MEC suspended the voters’ roll verification exercise when it first started due to inadequacies in the preliminary voters’ roll.
