MEC finally moves to Lilongwe

Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has finally moved its head offices from Blantyre to Lilongwe ahead of the 2025 Tripartite Elections, it has emerged.

The relocation was one of the electoral and institutional reforms the electoral body proposed seven years ago as part of reducing MEC’s operational costs by 30 percent.

In a brief public notice issued yesterday, MEC said its new head office, situated in Development House, Plot No. 13/5 Off-Independence Drive at the City Centre, is now operational. The office space was formerly occupied by the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera).

In January this year, MEC director of media and public relations Sangwani Mwafulirwa told The Nation that the decision to relocate would ensure centrality as regards the coordination of the commission’s activities.

Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace national coordinator Boniface Chibwana also said then that MEC’s relocation was long overdue as the issue was one of administrative reforms highly recommended by stakeholders.

However, there have also been some stakeholders expressing reservations with the decision that comes after government started moving all major public offices from Blantyre to Lilongwe, the administrative capital, arguing the move would disenfranchise Blantyre City dwellers of socio-economic activities.

The major relocation of all head offices for the ministries, departments and agencies which were housed in Blantyre to Capital Hill in Lilongwe were initiated by former president Bingu wa Mutharika around 2006.

Currently, plans are also in the pipeline to relocate head offices of Immigration Department and Judiciary which are in Blantyre.