As the phase 3 of processing transfers and issuing of duplicate voter certificates to those who lost them is going towards the end, it has been revealed that most centres in Neno have had no party monitors during the exercise.
A continuous visit to most of the centres in the district by Neno District Election Supervisory Team (DEST) only found the presence of NICE Trust Monitors and only two centers had DPP monitors.
National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) District Civic Education Officer for Neno Walasi Kudzala said the failure of political parties to send their monitors to oversee the exercise is a threat to the enhancement of transparent in the electoral process.
“This exercise is very important because it give political parties opportunity to know the changes and shortcomings in the voter registry,” said Kudzala.
According to Kudzala, fielding monitors in every electoral process can help monitors to gain enough experience before actual voting day.
“Political parties that monitor voter registration may be required to engage in activities that are similar to those they conduct as part of their election day monitoring efforts. By conducting activities several months before election day, political parties can identify important monitoring strengths and weaknesses. The lessons learned from monitoring the voter registration process can serve to enhance their monitoring of voting, counting and tabulation of results,” added Kudzala.
Following the Supreme Court ruling that those who registered for the May 2019 Tripartite Elections should be the ones to vote, Malawi Electoral Commission announced the opening of all the centres in the remaining councils for phase 3 for five days to process transfers and issue duplicate voter certificates for those who lost them.
Third phase started from 15 to 19 May, 2020 in the councils of Mzuzu City, Mzimba, Ntchisi, Mchinji, Balaka, Zomba City, Zomba District and Neno.
