Yoneco volunteers impress MEC

The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has commended the Youth Net and Counselling (Yoneco) for mobilising people to register during the voters registration exercise in Mangochi.

Yoneco is one of the MEC-accredited civil society organisations (CSOs) to conduct civic and voter education in the district.

Speaking during a community-based educators review meeting last Tuesday at St Augustine III Primary School in the area of Traditional Authority (T/A) Mponda in the district, MEC district election clerk, Mcnight Kachingwe, hailed Yoneco’s community-based educators for taking the voter education messages to rural masses.

“The voter registration exercise in Mangochi was not marred by many irregularities as was the case with other districts. Of course, problems are inevitable during such exercises.

“Almost at each and every registration centre, our staff was reported to have been inundated with people wanting to register. This clearly, shows that people in the villages were civic-educated on the importance of taking part in an election,” he said.

Yoneco district manager for Mangochi, Frank Mfune, urged volunteers to intensify civic and voter education.

“I ask you to go flat out teaching people about tripartite elections and you should work with others doing a similar work,” he said.

The registration exercise in Mangochi started on September 28 and ended on October 11 2013.