Vice-President Michael Usi has backed calls by some electoral stakeholders, including opposition political parties, to extend the voter registration exercise for the September 16 2025 General Elections.
In an interview after registering yesterday at Namatete Primary School in Chirimba Township in Blantyre, Usi noted that the exercise has been marred by numerous challenges that forced some people not to register.
The challenges include the absence of National Registration Bureau (NRB) staff and equipment in some registration centres to register individuals for national identity (ID) cards as ordered by the High Court of Malawi.
Said Usi: “From what I have seen here [Namatete], there is quite a big number of people that have not registered, but they would want to register, but there are challenges.
“So, we cannot leave somebody out when they are eligible to vote. Let that person be registered. So, the extension calls to me are legitimate.”
Spot-checks in some registration centres such as Saint Pius, Catholic Institute (CI), Namatete and Makata primary schools in Blantyre yesterday, which was the final day in the second phase, found people in long lines waiting to register.
For instance, at Saint Pius Primary School, peoplewho had no national IDs were sent back without being registered. Then at one point, registration was temporarily stopped due to network glitches.
Since the beginning of the first phase of the voter registration exercise, electoral stakeholders have been calling for Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) to extend the exercise.
On Thursday, newly elected UTM Party president Dalitso Kabambe also asked MEC to extend the exercise by three weeks.
MEC communications officer Richard Mveriwa is on record as saying the commission will not extend phase two of the voter registration. He, however, indicated that MEC will extend phase one of the exercise due to NRB issues.
“MEC is impressed with the turnout of people in voter registration centres during the current phase and is expecting more people to show up during the final days of the exercise,” he said.
During the first phase of voter registration, MEC registered 2 224 307 people, representing 65 percent of the projected 3 423 066.
In a related development, Minister of Information and Digitisation Moses Kunkuyu’s vehicle was stoned by some angry residents in Ndirande Township yesterday as he and his team were reportedly touring some projects.
In a video clip that went viral on social media yesterday, some Ndirande Market vendors’ leaders were heard expressing displeasure with the conduct of some politicians in the party in government, whom they claim are obsessed with power that they take people of Ndirande for granted.
Kunyuyu confirmed the incident in an interview, but said the car that was stoned was one of those on his motorcade
