In preparation for the 21 May tripartite elections, the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has trained roving monitors for the seven presidential candidates contesting in this year’s polls
The roving monitors drawn from the Democratic Progressive Party, Malawi Congress Party, UTM, Umodzi Party, United Democratic Front, Mbakuwaku Movement for Democracy and as well as those representing the independent candidate Reverend Kaliya were grilled in the new election results management and system in Lilongwe.
Speaking at the training in Lilongwe, MEC Deputy Director of Electoral Services, Wellington Katantha described the training as ‘timely’ since it will help the roving monitors familiarise themselves with the voting and counting procedure put in place.
“We have organized this training targeting roving monitors for all those contesting on presidential candidate ticket so they should know the procedures put in place as they move around in polling stations when 21 May comes,” said Katantha.
He further said that the training will also help monitors identify problems on polling day at the stations and be able to fix them by liaising with the commission.
Commenting on the training, DPP Regional Secretary for the Central Region Damaziyo Shumba said it will help political parties fill in the information gaps with just days remaining to vote.
“This training is important because it has come at the right time for us since this is not new and it is just a refresher so we are excited with the new knowledge gained here and once again it demonstrates the commission’s preparedness to deliver a credible election since all political parties have been involved,” said Shumba.
MEC requires that each presidential candidate provide a maximum of 10 roving monitors at the national tally centre, 5 at district level, 4 at constituency and 2 monitors per stream.
