MEC clarifies on Karonga election materials
Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has disputed recent social media reports that one of its trucks offloaded some election materials illegally before reaching Karonga District Council offices last week.
In a press statement issued on Thursday signed by MEC director of media and public relations Sangwani Mwafulirwa, MEC said the rumours are baseless and are just aimed at causing panic among Malawians as the country prepares for the May 21 2019 Tripartite Elections.
The commission clarified that the truck, registration TPE32 successfully delivered the materials at the council on Saturday, December 29 2018, in readiness for the voter verification exercise which started on January 5 and finishes on January 9 2019.
The Statement said after delivering the materials, the driver stopped at a Total service station for refuelling where a used seal dropped out of the vehicle.
“Social media have speculated that the van was dropping electoral materials illegally. The commission is advising the public to refrain from feeding the electorate with fake stories,” the press release stated.
Meanwhile, MEC has urged all electoral stakeholders to verify matters first before spreading them as truth.
MEC is conducting voter verification in Karonga, Chitipa, Mzimba, Rumphi, Nkhata Bay and Likoma districts as well as Mzuzu City in its last phase of the exercise 2019. n
