European Union Election Observation Mission (EU-EOM) has described the start of the 2025 General Elections as peaceful and orderly, noting that voters showed patience across all 28 districts.
EU-EOM chief observer Lucia Annunziata told the press at Kawale Primary School in Lilongwe yesterday that voters turned out in large numbers, waiting quietly in queues and adapting to new procedures introduced since the 2020 elections.
She said: “We have seen people waiting from early this morning. There have been no major problems across the districts covered, only isolated cases such as people shouting in queues when someone tried to jump ahead. In general, the situation has been peaceful.”
| Francis Chamasowa
Annunziata said observers deployed nationwide noted that most polling centres opened on time at 6am, with only minor delays of up to 30 minutes in some areas.
She added that while there were small technical hitches with fingerprint verification, backup systems, including photo identification, ensured voters were not turned away.
Observed Annunziata: “People were patient, even when faced with new rules and technological instruments. What we have seen so far is satisfactory.
“Security was visible but not overwhelming, which is important because too much policing at polling stations can intimidate voters. Today we saw the right balance.”
The mission, which has deployed 110 long- and short-term observers, is collecting information from across the country to be compiled into a preliminary statement in the coming days.
At Kawale Primary School in Lilongwe City-Masintha Constituency, voters expressed similar satisfaction with the process.
Maness Dzinkhata, one of the first to cast her ballot, said she was impressed by both the calm atmosphere and the assistance offered to those struggling with the new system.
“It has been calm and there were no incidences of violence,” she said, adding: “The new system is intuitive, and the officials were on hand to help those who had problems. Overall, things went well.”
The EU-EOM stressed that its current findings are provisional, based on morning observations, and a more comprehensive assessment will follow once counting and tallying are complete.
