NICE faults MEC on information blackout
The National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) Trust has accused the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) of failing to provide adequate and timely information to stakeholders and affected communities on problems hampering the voter registration process.
In a statement released on Friday, NICE feared that lack of information to stakeholders may affect preparations for the elections and registration of voters.
The statement, signed by NICE executive director Ollen Mwalubunju, said although phases five and six of the registration process were generally successful, some centres encountered challenges that have the potential to mar the exercise.
“For instance, abrupt changes of registration dates in some parts of the country frustrated prospective registrants,” reads the statement.
NICE also faults MEC for failing to consider that population in areas such as Lilongwe City continues to grow, thereby rendering the 2010 population projections, which MEC relies on, useless.
“All the centres in Lilongwe City had more people than perhaps MEC had projected and expected and the registration clerks were overwhelmed.
“This has left many potential registrants frustrated since they stayed for long hours and a very big number of prospective registrants were sent back in most centres,” says the statement.
It adds that abrupt changes in the registration calendar, especially in phase six when NICE and other partners had already mobilised potential registrants had serious consequences on the registration process.
NICE has recommended that MEC should come up with a final comprehensive schedule for the registration process, which should not be changed anyhow and, where the changes are inevitable, the electoral body should give ample notice to all stakeholders to enable them to reposition.
“Considering that there are 9 phases of the registration process, NICE wishes to appeal to MEC, all political parties, accredited CSOs and development partners to remain focused and committed to the process by taking lessons from the first phase and factoring them in subsequent phases so that there are notable improvements.
“NICE is also calling on all accredited CSOs and the media to collaborate with its structures in the provision of timely, quality, professional and non-partisan civic education for the subsequent registration phases,” says the statement.
MEC director of media and public relations Sangwani Mwafulirwa said he could not comment on the concerns because he had not seen the statement.
