Nankhumwa moves Parliament to amend electoral law

Leader of Opposition in Parliament Kondwani Nankhumwa has moved the National Assembly to review electoral laws to allow other forms of identification for one to register as a voter.

The Mulanje Central legislator argues in his submission to the House that by using the national identity card (ID) only, some voters who lost or might not have the national ID at the time of registration risk being disenfranchised.

Nankhumwa, therefore, proposes the need to incorporate other modes such as driving licence, passport or a letter from chiefs as proof of eligibility to register as a voter in the upcoming 2025 General Elections.

Reads Nankhumwa’s memorandum on the Bill: “Other means of identification which were used as proof of eligibility to register as a voter in 1994, 1999, 2004 and 2014 elections, such as letters of reference from recognised chiefs, and or village heads as listed by the Ministry of Local Government, a driving licence, a school identification card and a passport, should also be used.

“This will ensure that the rights of all Malawians eligible to vote as  provided for under Section 77 (1)  and (2) and political rights as provided for under Section 40 (1) (c) of the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi  are upheld and that no Malawian eligible to vote is disenfranchised.”

The proposal comes a few weeks after Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Chifundo Kachale told the Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises Committee of Parliament and National Registration Bureau (NRB) early this month that the commission is only registering as a voter a person who holds a national ID issued by the NRB.

He said at the meeting: “This means that at the time of registering voters, the commission will only accept national identity cards as proof of registration with NRB.”

Kachale, a judge of the High Court of Malawi, said under the current electoral law in Section 12 of the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections Act, a person can only be placed on the voters’ roll upon presentation of proof of registration with the NRB.

In an interview yesterday, United Democratic Front spokesperson Ywusuf Mwawa said using national ID only will be a recipe for an unfair electoral process.

UTM Party spokesperson Felix Njawala also supported Nankhumwa’s proposal, saying NRB is facing challenges to meet its targets due to capacity and technical problems.

But while admitting that the national ID system is very slow, Peoples Party spokesperson Ackson Kalaile Banda said the law should not be amended.

Malawi is expected to hold General Elections on September 16 2025.