The Electoral Commission (EC) has finished a day earlier printing ballot papers for Mzimba South West and Mzimba Central constituencies by-elections.
The 80 600 papers will be dispatched from Blantyre on Saturday, according to the commission.
The development has given impetus to the electoral body, which on Thursday said it is looking forward to the day it will print ballot papers for a general election within the country.
The commission’s chairperson of electoral services committee, the Reverend Emmanuel Chinkwita Phiri, said if ballot papers for general elections were printed in Malawi, the country would save foreign currency.
“As a commission, we will endeavour to build our capacity so that we reduce the number of services that we procure from outside the country,†he said.
This is not the first time the commission has printed ballot papers for by-elections in the country.
Since 2009, the commission has printed ballot papers for Blantyre City Central, Zomba Malosa, Mangochi Malombe, Dowa South East and Rumphi Central by-elections.
On Monday, when the commission started printing, it estimated that the exercise would take five days to finish, but the work was completed within four days.
Chinkwita Phiri said the number of ballot papers printed has been determined by the final figure of registered voters in the respective constituencies.
The by-elections are set for Tuesday, October 9 2012.
