The Civil Society Elections Integrity Forum (Cseif) has expressed concern over the constant raising of issues that the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) already addressed through established mechanisms.
In a statement, Cseif chairperson Benedicto Kondowe said the recent letter from five opposition parties mostly reiterates previously addressed issues, and urges that as Malawi approaches the September 16 2025 elections, all stakeholders must engage responsibly and in good faith.
Five parties namely, Democratic Progressive Party, UTM, United Democratic Front, People’s Party and Alliance for Democracy wrote MEC on March 6 over what they called the unsatisfactory manner the commission is handling the electoral process.
Signed by their secretaries general (SGs), the parties cited failure by MEC to provide a sample for the pilot registration and destroying the piloted data from servers in presence of political parties and refusal to allow independent information and communication technology (ICT) experts to audit the servers.
The letter read in part: “The commission refused to grant this request citing security of the system. The commission, therefore, proceeded with voter registration while disregarding our concerns.
“We also reported that during phase two of the registration, most centres delayed to open, with others opening on the 5th day into the 14 days allocated. It is unfortunate that the commission looked away on this serious matter when considering the supplementary registration exercise.”
While during phases one and two all people who had presented themselves on the last day of registration were allowed to register even after 4pm if they were on the queue by 4pm, the parties argue that during phase three, such was not the case.
It added: “We also requested the commission to come out clearly on why it seems to be changing its own decisions from doing a manual transmission of results as it was done in the 2020 Fresh Presidential Elections and now trying to push for the hybrid system of transmitting results as it was done in 2019 and 2014.
“Failure to provide favourable solutions to us and Malawians at large will give us no option, but start legal redress.”
But in a statement issued yesterday, Kondowe said while political parties have the right to raise concerns, such engagements must be constructive and focused on unresolved matters.
He reminded political parties that they are not the sole stakeholders in the electoral process and cannot hold MEC hostage.
Said Kondowe: “They must refrain from bypassing established electoral dispute resolution mechanisms and avoid fuelling public distrust in MEC through misinformation and sensationalism.
“MEC must uphold transparency and accountability by continuing to engage stakeholders through the National Elections Consultative Forum and direct consultations with political parties.”
He urged all stakeholders to refrain from actions that could delegitimize the process and incite electoral violence.
Launched on January 28 2025, Cseif is a network of over 100 civil society organisations dedicated to promoting transparent, inclusive, and credible elections in Malawi.
