Five opposition political parties are set to hold a demonstration and vigil at Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) headquarters in Lilongwe tomorrow to push it to address their concerns on the electoral process so far.
The parties are Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), UTM, United Democratic Front (UDF), Alliance for Democracy (Aford) and Economic Freedom Party (EFP).
In a statement, they said they want MEC to extend the first phase of the voter registration exercise before proceeding with the second stage underway in some districts.
Further, the parties want MEC to terminate a contract with Smartmatic International Holding for the supply of election management devices (EMDs) and election system management software for the September 16 General Elections.
They demand the resignation of MEC chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja, chief executive officer Andrew Mpesi and National Registration Bureau (NRB) Principal Secretary Mphatso Sambo for allegedly failing in their duties.
In an interview on Monday, the demonstration and vigil task force committee chairperson Levy Luwemba said the decision follows MEC’s failure to address opposition political parties’ concerns, which they raised through press conferences.
He said: “The issues are that political parties are not going to accept the usage of Smartmatic in the electoral process. The transmission of results has to be like it was in 2019 and 2020 elections.
“We are also saying phase one of the voters’ registration had several issues and there is no reason to go into phase two whilst phase one issues are yet to be resolved.”
In a notice of demonstration dated November 11 2024, addressed to Lilongwe district commissioner Lawford Palani and co-signed by Luwemba, task force secretary Bilal Mbowani and member Emmanuel Mtunga, the parties state that the demonstration and vigil will be peaceful and conducted in accordance with the law.
The notice indicates that the demos will start at 11am and will culminate into vigils from 4pm at MEC headquarters.
It shows that protesters will march from Lilongwe Community Centre ground via Mchesi to Kamuzu Central Hospital Roundabout, cutting through Bisnowaty before passing Parliament Roundabout to end at MEC head offices.
In a telephone interview on Monday, Palani confirmed receipt of the notification, saying: “I can confirm that we have received the letter and we have responded by inviting representatives of the parties to a stakeholders meeting scheduled for November 12 2024.”
Last week, Public Affairs Committee (PAC), a quasi-religious grouping, advised MEC and opposition parties to engage in dialogue to clear the mistrust over use of digital election management system and other concerns.
PAC made the suggestion in reaction to calls by the opposition parties for MEC chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja and chief elections officer Andrew Mpesi to resign for allegedly being compromised.
Opposition political parties have been demanding the termination of a contract with Smartmatic International Holding for the supply of EMDs and election system management software in next year’s general elections.
In a letter dated November 7 2024 addressed to Mtalimanja and signed by secretaries general of DPP, UTM Party, UDF and Aford, the parties warned that if their concerns are not addressed, they will hold vigils at MEC offices.
