The Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa)-Malawi Chapter has insisted that Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) should find room to accommodate journalists who will be deployed outside their duty stations on the voting day to vote.
The call follows a resolution at a meeting between MEC and Civil Society Elections Integrity Forum (Cseif) that in the absence of a law to accommodate observers and journalists to vote elsewhere, MEC should prioritise journalists and observers in the centres they registered so that they can embark on their assignments.
In an interview yesterday, Misa-Malawi chairperson Golden Matonga welcomed the decision to prioritise journalists in the centres they registered but said there is still need to consider those that will be deployed away from their duty stations.
He said Misa-Malawi will continue to engage MEC to enable accredited journalists that will be deployed far from their duty stations to vote where they will be assigned.
“We are still hoping that an arrangement can be made to support that undertaking,” said Matonga.
He said prioritising journalists who will not be deployed to other areas will also help the journalists to vote early and concentrate on their work.
However, Cseif, which met MEC on Friday to discuss the possibility of allowing domestic election observers and journalists to vote where they will be deployed by their institutions, has welcomed the arrangement by MEC and has called on observers and media houses to take advantage of the arrangement to be able to vote.
In a statement issued yesterday and signed by Cseif chairperson Benedicto Kondowe, Cseif said though the arrangement is not a substitute for full legal provision, it is significant.
Cseif has since called on accredited election observers and accredited journalists to take advantage of the arrangement to be at the polling stations in good time to vote and proceed with their assignments
Reads the statement: “While acknowledging the absence of an enabling legal framework to allow accredited media and observers to vote at any polling station away from their registered or transferred centre, Cseif finds MEC’s administrative decision to prioritise these categories for first voting at the opening of polling stations to be progressive and pragmatic under the circumstances.”
In an interview, Kondowe said Cseif would have loved if observers and media were given a chance to vote in places where they will be deployed.
He said since it is difficult under the current circumstances, institutions should not deploy staff far away from the places they registered.
MEC spokesperson Sangwani Mwafulirwa said the current arrangement is that the observers and media will vote where they registered.
Parliament amended the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections Act to allow polling staff, security personnel and representatives of parties and candidates to vote where they will be deployed
MEC chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja earlier cautioned against making the scope too wide, arguing that doing so will pose challenges in ensuring credibility of elections.
