MEC TO TRAIN PEOPLE ON HOW TO USE EMDs

The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has disclosed that it is set to begin training people on how they are going to use the Electoral Management Devices (EMDS) for the forthcoming general elections (2025 Tripartite Elections).

MEC Commissioner responsible for elections, Olivia Liwewe disclosed this today at Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe when the commission together with political party representatives received a consignment of 53 pallets of the devices each containing 72 electoral management devices.

Liwewe indicated that about 90% of the devices have been received so far hence the decision to start training all concerned stakeholders including party representatives before the commencement of the initial registration of voters in September this year.

“There are about 740 that are to come. I think at this juncture we are over 90% in terms of what we are supposed to receive. We are going to have 6,500 electoral management devices for each polling Centre in Malawi, and polling centres are 6,340 so the balance is just a little more extras should anything wrong happen in any of them. At least we have a backup,” Liwewe disclosed.

Liwewe added by disclosing that the commission will have a pilot exercise of voter registration as part of civic educating the citizens in selected areas across the country.

“There is a code in the device for the pilot which means those that will be registered during the pilot will not be considered in the eventual registration exercise, they will still have to come again in September 2024 to register so the pilot has a code, and names will not be a part of the eventual registration l, so they will be fully informed” she added.

She among others expressed her satisfaction with the progress being made in preparation of the forthcoming elections as everything is going on well according to their operational plan which was launched last year.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) representative, Markford Somanje said they are impressed with the preparations so far however he challenged the commission to allow party representatives have barcodes of the devices once they arrive before ferrying them to the warehouses.

“We would like the procedure to be set in the sense that when the devices arrive, we get the barcodes, because right now they are loading, we don’t know they are loading against what? We don’t have the receipts, delivery receipts so you are loading to the warehouse. If there’s a mismatch, how do we reconcile the process?” Asked Somanje.

MEC is set to start the voter registration in September this year for the 2025 general elections as the law stipulates that the exercise be held a year before the elections.