Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) yesterday took delivery of 115 pallets of parliamentary election ballot papers for 108 constituencies ahead of the September 16 General Election.
The arrival of the consignment was, however, marred by a four-hour delay at Kamuzu International Airport (KIA) in Lilongwe raising questions from political parties.
The aircraft, scheduled to land at 11.30am, only touched down at 3.30pm after what MEC said was a refuelling stopover in Nairobi, Kenya.
But some party representatives voiced suspicion, with UTM’s Andrew Kamlopa saying the explanation was unconvincing.
“We don’t understand what was happening during this four-hour delay. That surely didn’t need four hours for refuelling,” he said.
Other representatives were more measured. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) head of information and communication technology Mackford Somanje said the process was satisfactory despite the setback.
“We are alright with how everything has gone so far. We only had a slight delay due to what they said was refuelling in Kenya,” he said.
Several observers left before the delayed arrival, fuelling further unease among those present.
MEC chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja assured stakeholders that the ballot papers would be stored in a designated warehouse at the airport under 24-hour guard.
She urged party representatives to record the serial numbers of the seals used to lock the warehouse, noting these would be verified when the facility is reopened to add more consignments.
“On the day we open the warehouse to add more ballot papers, all stakeholders will be given an opportunity to verify the serial numbers before entry. In this regard, there is no need for any party to send representatives to stand guard here,” said Mtalimanja, a judge of the High Court of Malawi.
The ballots are for 108 constituencies; one seat is excluded following the declaration of a candidate as winner after the death of a rival.
According to MEC’s official schedule, the arrival of ballot papers will take place in phases. The second consignment, containing parliamentary ballots and part of the local government ballots, is expected to arrive on September 4.
According to MEC’s official schedule, a second batch, consisting of additional parliamentary ballots and part of the local government ballots, is expected on September 4 at 2.30pm.
This will be followed by two separate consignments at 11.00 am and 2.30pm on September 5, bringing in the presidential ballots along with more local government ballots. The final consignment, containing the remaining local government ballots is due on September 6 at 10.30pm.
Mtalimanja further said MEC’s logistics task force would ensure all ballots are distributed to polling centres on time, including to hard-to-reach areas.
“We don’t want to get to the voting day and find centres closing because there are no ballot papers,” she said.
Representatives from the DPP, UTM, Republican Party, and independent presidential candidates Adil Chilungo and Millward Tobias witnessed the consignment’s handover.
