The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has dominated the September 16 General Election, having won the presidential seat, more parliamentary seats and the majority of wards in the Local Government Election.
The Local Government Election results that Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja announced at the National Tally Centre in Lilongwe yesterday show that DPP has scooped 249 wards, followed by 143 for Malawi Congress Party (MCP) while independent candidates have secured 83.
UTM Party has claimed 14 council seats, United Democratic Front (UDF) has six, People’s Party has three while National Development Party has two.
At the very bottom are Odya Zake Alibe Mlandu, People’s Development Party, and Alliance for Democracy who have each produced one councillor.
Mtalimanja said the commission did not conduct Local Government polls in seven wards for various reasons.
Meanwhile, the MEC chairperson announced that the commission will soon embark on preparatory activities for the 2030 General Election, including a post-election evaluation and documentation of lessons learned.
Said Mtalimanja: “A major undertaking after elections is the post-election evaluation, often referred to as the post-mortem. This is a comprehensive review of the entire electoral process, from voter registration to the announcement of results. Together with stakeholders, we will identify areas where operations went smoothly and where improvements are necessary.
“We will assess our logistical systems, our results transmission mechanisms, and our coordination at all administrative levels. We also examine the performance of technology, voter education strategies, and communication with stakeholders and even participation of all CSO that were accredited to conduct civic and voter education.”
She said the aim of the exercise is to draw lessons that can help the commission and stakeholders to perform better in the next elections.
Mtalimanja also said the commission will conduct by-elections in five constituencies where parliamentary elections did not take place.
The constituencies are Nkhotakota Liwaladzi in Nkhotakota where elections failed because of a court order; Lilongwe City Mtandire-Mtsiriza in Lilongwe City where the poll was nullified by the commission following the mishandling of void votes at the council office; Lilongwe City Bwaila Constituency in Lilongwe City where the poll was nullified because of mishandling of void votes at the council office; Dedza Mtakataka in Dedza where the poll failed due to a court order; and Blantyre West in Blantyre District where the elections were postponed because of the death of a candidate.
Mtaliamanja also hailed Malawians, candidates and MEC staff for a peaceful and professional elections process.
Various observers have described MEC’s handling of this year’s general elections as professional.
