Presidential election results accurate —Mesn
Malawi Electoral Support Network (Mesn) has said despite the challenges that plagued the vote tallying process, Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) official results for the presidential election are a true reflection of ballots cast.
Mesn says it has data obtained through its parallel voter tabulation (PVT) exercise which was aimed at providing independent verification of the accuracy of the results.
In a statement signed by Mesn chairperson Steve Duwa, for each of the top four presidential candidates, official results announced by MEC fall within the PVT estimated range.
“The PVT estimated Joyce Banda of People’s Party should receive between 18.2 percent and 21.8 percent of the vote, and she received 20.2 percent of the vote according to MEC’s official results. The PVT estimated Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi Congress Party should get between 25.1 percent and 31.7 percent of the vote, and he received 27.8 percent of the vote according to MEC’s official results.
“The PVT estimated Atupele Muluzi of United Democratic Front should receive between 11.9 percent and 15.5 percent of the vote, and he received 13.7 percent of the vote according to MEC’s official results. The PVT estimated Peter Mutharika of Democratic Progressive Party should receive between 32.7 percent and 39.3 percent of the vote, and he received 36.4 percent of the vote according to MEC’s official results,” reads the statement in part.
On concerns raised over some polling stations with turnout of over 100 percent, Mesn says this affected only two percent of the sampled polling stations.
The statement says data collected by Mesn demonstrates that even if the results from the affected polling stations were thrown out, it would not change the outcome of the presidential election.
