Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) says it conducted due diligence on Smartmatic, the company it contracted to supply election management devices and election management system software for the 2025 General Elections.
In a statement dated October 20 2024 which MEC chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja signed, the commission has responded to opposition political parties’ concerns that Smartmatic has a questionable track record.
At a press briefing on October 16, UTM Party, Alliance for Democracy (Aford) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) claimed that MEC settled for Smartmatic without conducting due diligence and alleged that the company is of questionable integrity.
They also expressed surprise that MEC dumped biometric voter registration kits used in the 2019 Tripartite Elections in favour of the election management devices.
However, Mtalimanja in the statement said Smartmatic was identified through a transparent process conducted in line with the country’s procurement laws.
She further said the commission conducted due diligence on Smartmatic, which included a visit to the company’s assembly plant in Taiwan and to Zambia and Kenya where the firm has been involved in supply of election technology.
Reads the statement: “The commission is aware that Smartmatic has faced various allegations of election interference in countries such as Venezuela, the Philippines, and Kenya.
“However, after a thorough examination, these claims have been found to lack merit, with no substantiated evidence to support them.
“As such, these allegations do not diminish the company’s credibility or the vital role it has been assigned by the commission in supporting the electoral process.”
In the 2019 Tripartite Elections, MEC used biometric voter registration kits developed with technical support from the United Nations Development Programme.
Mtalimanja said MEC stopped using the kits because they became outdated and the software for the kits was not Android-based, making it incompatible with the devices the commission was considering for procurement.
UTM, Aford and DPP first raised concerns about the election management devices and the lack of auditors in a letter to the commission and reiterated their concerns at a press briefing in Lilongwe on October 16 2024.
In an interview yesterday, DPP publicity secretary Shadric Namalomba said the leaders of the three parties have received the statement from MEC and will make a determination on how to proceed going forward.
Meanwhile, the commission has started conducting first phase of voter registration.
