Thousands of people flocked to voting centres in Mzuzu this morning to vote in today’s tripartite elections.
Some people suspected to be unregistered voters slipped among the registered voters only to be sent back home from Katoto Primary and Zolozolo Primary school polling centres after it was discovered that their names were not on the voter’s roll.
Mzuzu City Presiding Officer Rebecca Chirwa disclosed some names of voters could not be traced on the voters roll because other voters only claimed to have registered but did not register to vote at all.
“Some of the people who are saying that their names cannot be found did not register. We have checked their names in the voters roll and have not found them, so let them go back home,” Chirwa said.
Maggie Chunga, Returning Officer for Katoto Primary school confirmed that some people were turned back for failing to be traced in the voters roll.
“Some people did not register but some of them came here and yet their names are appearing at Kauwa so we have sent them where their names appear. It seems some voters had forgotten the centre where they had registered from that is why they came here and we had to send them back,” Chunga said.
But Young Jere, one of the people whose name and picture could not be found in the voter’s roll at Katoto Primary School Centre where we he went to vote explained that he had travelled from Lilongwe to the centre in Mzuzu only to be turned back after his name could not be found.
“I want MEC to assist me because actually my name and my face is not in the polling system and when I met the returning officer and asked for assistance from the presiding officer, they went around looking for my name in the voter register and could not find it they told me that if the name is not on that centre then I cannot vote but I did actually register from this centre and I have got my ID card with me,” Jere said.
Meanwhile, at St Peters Polling Centre in Katawa Ward voters queued up to vote as early as 5:30 AM in the country’s second Tripartite Elections.
Chimeta Mlambia, an elderly man who was the first to cast his vote at St Peters said voting should start at 5 AM.
“I came here very early around 5:30 and I am the first to cast my vote as a senior citizen. I am impressed with the organization but I would urge MEC that in the next elections they should be able to take their positions around 5 AM. When people come here at 6 AM they should start voting,” Mlambia said.
Meanwhile, at Mchengautuba Primary School Centre voting started at 06:10 with long queues despite the division of voters into six streams.
In today’s elections registered voters in Malawi are voting to elect 193 legislators, 462 ward councillors and a new President.
