Electoral stakeholders, including the Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC), have questioned Malawi Electoral Commission’s (MEC) decision to engage election machine supplier Smartmatic when it has alleged credibility issues.
Speaking in Lilongwe on Thursday during a National Elections Consultative Forum (Necof) , HRDC chairperson Gift Trapence questioned MEC if it had looked into the issue of credibility of the supplier.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) director of legal affairs Chipiliro Mpinganjira also said there a r e concerns around the firm in countries such as Philippines, Kenya, Zambia, Uganda where it previously provided services.
He asked MEC to reverse its decision of engaging the company to supply the machines for the September 2025 General Elections.
Said Mpinganjira: “Reverse the decision of engaging the company. A contract can be terminated.”
He further asked MEC to consider shifting the start of voter registration from October 21 this year to a later date.
Parliamentary Budget and Finance Committee chairperson Gladys Ganda also wondered if MEC indeed conducted due diligence since Malawi has challenges when it comes t o procurement processes.
“Did we do good diligence? Did we follow all procurement processes when procuring the services of this company? Because that is a key challenge we have in this country,” she said.
In response to the concerns, MEC chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja justified the contract, saying the commission conducted due diligence.
She said proper procurement processes were followed and Smartmatic emerged the winner.
Said Mtalimanja: “We did not just settle for Smartmatic. There was a procurement process that the commission followed and it was an international bidding procurement given the nature of the machines and functionalities.”
The MEC chairperson added that the company delivered equipment in Kenya, Zambia, Uganda and other countries in Africa where the machines were used without any challenges.
She said: “MEC cannot just cancel a contract without valid reasons. One does not just cancel a contract, or else there will be consequences involved.”
Malawi is set to hold general elections in September 2025 to elect a president, members of Parliament and councillors.
