Malawi Government says expired national Identity Cards will be considered valid until January 2026.
Minister of Homeland Security Ken Zikhale Ng’oma has announced this in Parliament today.
He added that President Lazarus Chakwera has also removed K2,500 registration fee which people pay to the National Registration Bureau (NRB) when renewing an expired or replacing a lost national ID.
Chakwera has also ordered Malawi Police to stop demanding police report fee for lost IDs until January 1st 2026.
This comes as Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) is expected to start voter registration next year for the 2025 Presidential Elections.
Under new electoral laws, the national ID is the only ID that a person can use to register for elections.
In recent weeks, there have been concerns from various stakeholders that millions of Malawians whose IDs expired or got lost would not be able to register for the elections considering the costs attached to renew or replace IDs.
NRB said last week that it is implementing a campaign to renew or replace 4 million IDs.
