There are mixed reactions to the first phase of the voter registration exercise for the September 16 2025 General Elections with political parties questioning why 1 198 759 eligible voters did not turn up.
But Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has allayed fears of possible voter apathy, saying the electoral body is content with the outcome.
During the first phase of voter registration conducted between October 21 and November 3 2024 in Chitipa, Karonga, Karonga Town, Mzuzu, Nkhotakota, Ntchisi, Salima, Dedza, Balaka, Machinga, Chiradzulu, Neno, Phalombe and Mulanje, MEC projected to register 3 423 066 people. However, 2 224 307 turned up, representing 65 percent reach.
In an interview on Sunday, Malawi Congress Party publicity secretary Jessie Kabwila said the registration exercise was not expected to be perfect, but her party is not satisfied because of the low turnout in some areas.
She said: “We feel it could be better and that more mobilisation will bring people to voter registration centres.
“As voter registration continues, we are focusing on voter education to ensure that people understand that if they do not register they will not be able to vote next year.”
On his part, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) publicity secretary Shadric Namalomba said MEC needed to explain why it has registered more than 70 percent of eligible voters in councils such as Ntchisi and Nkhotakota, but not in other councils.
“We hope that MEC will compensate councils under the first phase councils with 14 more days of voter registration,” he said.
In a separate interview, Alliance for Democracy publicity secretary Annie Maluwa echoed Namalomba’s sentiments and observed that people have been failing to register due to lack of national Identity (ID) cards.
She said that is the reason opposition parties have been pushing for the National Registration Bureau (NRB) to be registering people for IDs at voter registration centres.
“We have been pushing for those changes, we hope action will be taken,” she said.
But MEC communications officer Richard Mveriwa said on Sunday that the commission is content with the number of people registered in the first phase of the voter registration exercise.
“We managed to register a good number of eligible voters. Those that failed to register due to national ID will be given a chance when we re-open the exercise,” he said.
The Pr e s i d e n t i a l , Parliamentary and Local Government Elections Act prescribes the ID card issued by the National Registration Bureau (NRB) as the sole form identification for one to register as a voter.
However, opposition parties have argued that the provision, contained in a law passed by Parliament in 2022, the opposition lawmakers, would disenfranchise those without the national ID due to NRB’s purported lack of capacity.
Three weeks ago, some concerned citizens sought the intervention of the court on the matter and the High Court of Malawi ordered that NRB should station its officers in registration centres to capture into its database eligible voters without the document.
The second phase of the voter registration exercise started on November 9 2024 in 14 councils across the country.
