MEC hopeful on Parliament adopting demarcation report
The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has expressed fresh optimism that Parliament will endorse constituency demarcation determinations after political parties were consulted in coming up with the final report.
MEC chairperson Chifundo Kachale said this at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe on Friday after meeting Malawi Congress Party (MCP) leadership which included President Lazarus Chakwera to brief him on the final report.
This was the final leg of meetings MEC had scheduled with political parties to garner support for the demarcation exercise which were criticised for proposing a rise in parliamentary seats from 193 to 229.
Talking to the media, Kachale said: “We responded to all the queries the parties raised. They all agree that we have carried out the exercise in accordance with the law.
“They also acknowledged there was transparency throughout the exercise. In brief, all the parties we engaged are impressed with what we have done and have indicated that they will support the report in Parliament.”
Kachale said the commission was constrained to consider the views of some sections which included calls to reduce the number of constituencies or shelve the exercise altogether.
“Our response was that, based on the current laws, we don’t have those powers unless the laws are amended. In our report, we will take those issues to Parliament and other responsible institutions for action,” he said.
Kachale added that the commission’s next move will be to take the report to Parliament for approval.
“So, the law says Parliament must adopt our report. If they do, then those boundaries can be implemented in 2025,” he said.
MCP general secretary Eisenhower Mkaka said the party was convinced that MEC had addressed all the issues the electoral stakeholders had raised throughout the process.
He said: “MEC has presented its case, their final report which after this exercise [of meeting political parties] will be taken to Parliament to do their job.
“The commission has taken its position. They took all factors into consideration and they have told us that they took into consideration all the concerns the parties had raised.”
The demarcation exercise, which started last year, has led to the proposed creation of additional 35 constituencies starting from 2025 following the MEC resolution.
MEC announced that the Northern Region will have 37 constituencies from the current 33, an increase of four while the Central Region will have 20 new constituencies from 73 to 93 and the Southern Region will have 99 constituencies, a jump of 12 from 88.
