The National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) Trust has said abject poverty is forcing some people to sell their voter registration cards in some parts of the country.
Nice has since urged government and donors to provide tangible solutions before the problem gets out of hand.
Nice district civic education officer for Balaka Henrie Gwedeza told Nation on Sunday on Thursday that it will not be easy for civic and voter educators to convince hungry Malawians to guard against abuse of voter cards.
Gwedeza said buyers of voter cards are using the malpractice to deprive poor Malawians of their right to choose the leaders they want.
He said as destitution deepens among Malawians during the lean period, earnest distribution of relief foodstuffs should begin as a way of dealing with the problem.
“We are trying our best to sensitise registered voters on the need to keep their cards safe so that they exercise their right to vote next year. But with the level of destitution rising, I fear that some can easily disregard the message to satisfy their immediate needs,” said Gwedeza.
He disclosed that in rural parts of Balaka, many families have already run out of food and are surviving on mangoes.
“So, the best approach to counter this racket is by providing relief food to poverty-stricken families. Otherwise, we may end up labouring in vain taking messages to people who won’t participate in the elections because they sold their cards,” said Gwedeza.
