Mesn kicks off PVT training
The Malawi Electoral Support Network (Mesn) has begun training people recruited to take part in the Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) for the May 20 2014 Tripartite Elections.
The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) gave Mesn the green light to conduct PVT and 800 people across the country will be trained to carry out the exercise which will involve monitoring voting, counting and releasing of results of presidential elections.
The observers will be deployed to a representative random sample of polling stations and will be required to collect data and send it to the data centre where it will be used to systematically assess the quality of the process on a national scale and formulate the projection of elections results.
The observers will be reporting to the centre using the short message service (SMS) on a standardised checklist form.
The reports will then be entered into a specialised PVT database where the data will be checked for completeness. Quality control checks will also be performed prior to analysis and then results will be released.
Speaking during the opening of one of the training sessions in Blantyre on Friday, Mesn network coordinator Robert Silungwe advised the observers to be committed, non-partisan and disciplined.
“This is a very serious programme which requires your total availability, commitment and seriousness. By recruiting you, it means that we have trust and confidence in you and we expect quality work,” said Silungwe.
He told the observers that PVT is a proven methodology used by non-partisan citizen observers to independently verify official election results.
