As Malawi approaches the 2025 General Elections, a significant issue is surfacing in public discourse: the decision by the Malawi Electoral Commission to use national ID cards as the sole form of identification for voter registration.
This move, mandated by the Presidential, Parliamentary, and Local Government Elections Act of 2023, is sparking concerns across the political spectrum. Legal experts, political parties, and civil society organisations are questioning the implications of this decision.
While it is grounded in law, its potential impact on voter participation, particularly in rural areas, raises important questions about access and inclusivity. For many, including some opposition parties and the Malawi Law Society, the fear is that this policy might inadvertently disenfranchise large segments of the population.
Voter apathy has been a persistent issue in Malawi, long before the establishment of the National Registration Bureau (NRB). Even when voter registration processes were simpler, many eligible voters either failed to register or did not turn out to vote.
This is not just a matter of political disengagement; logistical challenges, such as the distance to registration centres or lack of access to information, have played a role in discouraging participation.
For years, these obstacles have compounded voter apathy, leaving political engagement relatively low in key parts of the country. The introduction of the national ID system was initially viewed as a step toward streamlining the registration process, making it easier for Malawians to engage in elections.
But as the 2025 elections approach, it seems that this initiative has introduced new complications, sparking fears that the upcoming election might see significant barriers to voter participation.
The NRB, tasked with issuing national IDs, has made impressive progress, surpassing the initial projections by the National Statistical Office (NSO) in two out of the three regions. This overachievement suggests that the bureau is capable of scaling its operations to meet national needs.
However, voter registration presents a unique challenge. The requirement that voters must present a national ID may leave a significant number of Malawians without the means to participate in the election. The challenge now is ensuring that the NRB can meet the needs of the entire population, particularly those living in rural areas where access to registration services is far more limited.
Rural communities are especially vulnerable under this new system. Urban centres typically have better access to registration services, but in rural areas, the infrastructure simply does not exist to support easy access to national IDs. If the political parties are right and most people are excluded from the electoral process, it would present a significant risk to the legitimacy of the 2025 General Elections.
However, if the political parties are overly concerned that some vulnerable groups might be excluded from the election, then they should initiate the process to amend the law to include other forms of registration.
MEC’s hands are tied. As the implementer, MEC can only act according to the law. If they act outside of the Act, then it poses a more serious risk to the legitimacy of the election. It exposes MEC to lawsuits for mismanaging an election.
Can Malawi afford another round of social unrest and economic disruptions that followed the contested election in 2019? Malawi was on the brink of a civil war before the courts nullified the election and ordered a re-run. There are downsides either way.
But the decision should not be made lightly. If the law is amended, it is likely to disrupt the electoral calendar. Likely, MEC will also require additional funding to carry out its operations. Are the members of Parliament, the political parties’ representatives in the House, ready to support the amendment and any financial outflow that will follow?
The political parties should account for how we had the bill in the first place. This bill was passed by their representatives in Parliament. At what point did political parties realise that voter registration would present some serious challenges?
One would think that these issues should have been addressed when the bill was presented to them, but that is neither here nor there. They need to act now and do so soberly to avoid similar gaffes in the future. From the outside looking in, the political parties have the power to make the changes required by amending the law in Parliament. Lobbying for MEC to Act contrary to the law could prove disastrous post-election.
