Political parties’ representatives yesterday took turns quizzing the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) over the credibility of the voters’ register despite assurances that no name has gone missing.
The state of the voters’ roll came under scrutiny at the National Elections Consultative Forum (Necof) in Lilongwe to discuss the preparations for the September 16 General Election, with the inspection and verification of the voters’ register slated for this month.
The quiz follows MEC’s announcement that 19 registered voters struggled to transfer to their preferred polling stations as their names could not be traced in the preliminary register.
MEC chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja said the setback compelled MEC to conduct a “full-scale data quality control assurance on the completeness of the vital list before restoring the supposedly missing names.”
While 15 of them seized a chance to complete the shift to places where they preferred to vote, one person in Machinga could not process the transfer as she had registered more than once and two others in Zomba did not show up despite indicating to do so.
Mtalimanja told the delegates: “When they first went to their centre where they had registered, their names were not found in the voter register. It’s not true that the names were missing or deleted. They were not just uploaded in the preliminary register.
“After this, we conducted a data quality assurance to ensure all names are on the register.”
However, it appears the assurances did little to calm the Necof participants, especially opposition political parties, at the talks where the silence of the governing Malawi Congress Party was loud and clear.
Over half of the questions at the meeting zeroed in on the state of the voters’ roll ahead of the inspection and verification exercise prescribed by Section 21 of the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Act.
United Democratic Front director of elections Yussufu Sambo asked whether the MEC chair would trust a watcher of her home if she locked it up and went on holiday only to find valuable goods missing on her return.
He asked: “Since the 19 people couldn’t transfer because their names were not detected on the voters’ register, where were these names? If you really brought these names back into the system, how many more were in place where you found the 19? If you can add them back just like that, what will prevent you from adding some more to the voters’ register?”
Sambo took the MEC chief on a rhetorical expedition, wondering how she would perceive her security detail if she locked her home and left for holiday, only to find her valuable goods missing on her return.
“If you find the valuables missing today and the next day, the security guard tells you ‘I have brought the things back’, would you trust that guard? Can’t you fire that guard? Why should Malawians trust you now?”
Democratic Progressive Party director of elections Jean Mathanga asked the election management body to uphold the dictates of Section 21 by displaying the voters’ roll in all registration centres and serving parties with copies when verification begins on May 15.
At the meeting MCP envoys asked no question, but the new borns jumped to the fore to demand transparency and accountability in the preparations for the forthcoming elections.
Abraham Nyondo, director of elections for Liberation for Economic Freedom, said he was disappointed that although parties are key stakeholders in the electoral process, MEC’s response to their grievances remains slow.
“I ask you to be prompt because elections are sensitive and such delays can ignite fire,” he said.
However, Mtalimanja said MEC has been forthcoming to respond to all queries even though it cannot reply overnight.
“We are a commission, so we have to meet and give accurate feedback,” she said.
She challenged political parties to rally their followers to go and verify their details in the voters’ register, a legally established process which helps MEC identify and fix errors in the register of electors.
At least 7.2 million Malawians have registered to vote in September, a 35 percent drop from the 11 million eligible voters projected by the National Statistical Office.
MEC is expected to run the verification of voters’ roll in three phases from May 13.
