Stakeholders see improvement in Phase 2 registration exercise

Electoral stakeholders yesterday said the second registration phase has improved with more people registering compared to the first one.

Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) yesterday took the media on a tour of some of the centres in Traditional Authority (T/A) Kalumbu in Ntchisi where it was found that cumulative figures are almost matching the projected number of registrants.

MEC chairperson Jane Ansah, who was on the tour, said in an interview that phase two of the registration exercise has improved as the commission had rectified some of the problems faced in the first phase.

She said: “This phase is quite different from the last one where we had some challenges. People are registering in large numbers and I hope we will meet the projected figure by Friday when the phase is closing.”

According to MEC officials, the projected number of registrants for the district was 163 000, but over 85 000 voters had registered by Sunday.

For example, 1 666 voters registered at Kanyenda centre against the projected number of 2 318 while 1 254 of them registered at Chiwaliwali centre against the projected figure of 2 166.

Random interviews conducted with political party monitors, who mainly included Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), revealed that people had gone to register because of voter and civic education campaigns taking place in different forums.

“There is sensitisation campaign going on. This phase is much better than the last one because there are a few challenges,” one of the monitors said.

In Ntchisi Central The Nation observed a vehicle with a public address system moving around sensitising communities.

In an interview yesterday, Malawi Electoral Support Network (Mesn) chairperson Steve Duwa observed that there was little breakdown of equipment and that fuel or generators were made available throughout the period since the phase started on July 13 this year.

Malawi Congress Party (MCP) publicity secretary Maurice Munthali, whose party cried foul over anomalies in the first phase, said the party is impressed with the turnout in the current phase.

He said: “We went flat out to do civic education. We are happy that registration has improved in phase two, but we hope there is room for more improvement.”

Phase two registration exercise is ending this Friday and the third phase is expected to start at the month end in Lilongwe which commands the largest number of voters in the central region.