MEC patted on the back over Oct by-elections

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ELECTIONS MALAWI

The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has been hailed for the way it managed the October 17 by-elections.

MEC led the polls in the six areas where people were voting into power Members of Parliament and Ward Councillors.

Wonderful Mkhutche
Wonderful Mkhutche: MEC needs to improve on voter apathy.

Despite being crippled with pre-poll violence, the elections were all smooth and all the political parties accepted the results which MEC officially announced on Wednesday in Blantyre.

In the six areas where by-elections were conducted, Opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) won in all three constituencies and two wards while the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) only got a single win of a ward councillor.

Speaking to Malawi24, political analyst Wonder Mkhutche hailed MEC for its administration of the elections but he encouraged the commission to ponder on addressing voter apathy.

“The only challenge these by-elections have faced is poor voter turnout. MEC needs to improve on that. They do not have control over how public broadcaster, MBC, conducts itself during elections, but an effort from MEC has to be done to reason with MBC for unbiased coverage of elections,” he said.

The analyst added: “In as far as positives, MEC has scored highly in making sure there was a level playing field for all. The report on the elections shows that MEC was sensitive of what was going on and did everything they could to address matters within their control.”

MEC chairperson Jane Ansah also admitted when she was announcing the official results on Wednesday that the polls were characterized by lower turnout.