Parties tipped on IDs action
Former clerk of Parliament Roosevelt Gondwe says political parties protesting use of the national identity (IDs) card as sole identification for voter registration are not helpless as they seem to be.
Speaking in an interview in Mzuzu yesterday, he said the parties can use members of Parliament (MP) to move an amendment to the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections Act through a private member’s Bill. He said such a process would also compel the government side to process for an amendment Bill.
Gondwe said he was surprised to note that MPs appear to have abandoned the set procedures and opted to debate the controversy in the public sphere.
He said: “The best way is to observe amendment procedures which Parliament permits them to do. Push for amendment of the laws, if that is what the public wishes to see. But what we see is that such is not being done and the debate continues.
“An MP can come up with a private member’s Bill just to deal with the matter at hand. The government side, which is bigger in terms of capacity to bring change to laws, can also set the ball rolling. The public expects them to do something about it.”
Section 4(12) of the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections Act prescribes the national ID as the sole form of identification for voter registration.
However, opposition political parties and some civil society organisations (CSOs) have expressed reservations with the arrangement, arguing that the National Registration Bureau (NRB) has capacity challenges.
Commenting on Gondwe’s suggestion, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesperson Shadric Namalomba said he was in support of the idea of reviewing the provision prescribing the national ID as the only form of identification.
He said: “After engaging Malawi Electoral Commission [MEC], we will take up the matter with Parliament by pushing for an amendment to the existing law. The suggestion is merited and welcome.”
In a separate response, United Democratic Front (UDF) publicity secretary Yusuf Mwawa said attempts were made by the opposition MPs during the last meeting of Parliament, but the government showed no interest.
“We will continue to push for a change of legislation to allow other forms of identification for voter registration and polling,” he said.
On his part, UTM Party publicity secretary Felix Njawala said they will use all available options to deal with the matter.
But Malawi Congress Party (MCP) secretary general Richard Chimwendo Banda, who is also Leader of the House, described the debate on the national IDs as retrogressive.
In apparent reference to the national IDs, he said it was the DPP administration under former president Peter Mutharika which rolled out the project in 2017.
“We supported the national ID project when DPP introduced it in 2017 and we believe that was progressive. As a nation, let us move progressively. And, any issues to do with civic registration let the National Registration Bureau handle that,” said Chimwendo Banda, who is also Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture.
On the other hand, lawyer Justin Dzonzi has advised political parties to move with speed by pushing for an emergency meeting of Parliament because they do not have ample time to push for review of the law ahead of the September 16 2025 General Elections.
He said political parties considering the limited time available, should have used the just-ended meeting of Parliament to call for a revision of the law.
Said Dzonzi: “Maybe, they can scrape off the provision that sets the national ID as the only tool for voter identification or they can modify it by allowing alternative forms of registration.
“But I am aware that consultations were held on this law. I was there and I raised this issue [national ID] but the political party representatives did not seem concerned at the time.”
Speaking in Lilongwe in July when updating the nation on the state of preparedness for the elections, MEC chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja reiterated that the national IDs will be the sole form of identification as per the law.
Meanwhile, DPP, UDF, UTM Party and Alliance for Democracy have asked MEC to address at least five issues to ensure a smooth and transparent electoral process ahead of the September 16 2025 General Elections.
In a joint letter dated September 16 2024, they queried the capacity of election management devices, lack of independent information and communications technology auditors during the polls, demanded manual transmission of results and use of national IDs as sole identification for voter registration.
