Despite growing concerns, the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has maintained its stance on requiring a National ID as the sole proof of voter registration for the 2025 General Elections.
MEC Chairperson, Justice Annabell Mtalimanja emphasized this position in Lilongwe on Tuesday during an interface meeting with the National Election Consultative Forum (NECOF) as the Commission was briefing them on the status of electoral processes and activities ahead of the next year’s polls.
Mtalimanja said the Commission will strictly require potential voters to register using the national ID only, as guided by section 12 of the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections Act which highlights that a person is eligible to be registered as a voter in an election shall, as part of a proof of eligibility, present in person a registration officer of his or her national registration issued by the National Registration Bureau (NRB).
She said: “The Commission has affirmed a position on this matter.The position taken has considered the full purport of the provision of section 12 of the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections Act, and section 17 of the National Registration Act and the guidance received from the National Registration Bureau on the definition are forms of proof of NRB.”
She further disclosed that as the election period draws closer, a valid national ID, an expired national ID or an NRB system-generated slip bearing a national ID number shall only be used for registration in the voter’s roll.
Meanwhile, the Commission has shifted to a later date the commencement of the voter registration exercise, initially scheduled to start in September 2024, owing to a rescheduled pilot voter registration exercise.
According to Justice Mtalimanja, the pilot voter registration exercise will be conducted in two phases from 21 August 2024 in the selected councils of Chitipa, Dedza, Balaka, Neno, Nsanje, Mzuzu, Lilongwe and Blantyre.
“The exercise aims to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the voter registration process, identify and resolve any technical glitches with the devices and system to refine our approach ahead of the actual registration exercise,” said Mtalimanja.
Recently, the leader of Malawi First, Bon Kalindo led a street protest against the use of the national ID as the only means of eligibility for one to register a name on the voter’s roll and, called on authorities to allow for other alternative avenues, saying the use of ID’s will deter others from exercising their constitutional right of voting.
The issuance of National Identification cards by the NRB has been facing several technical glitches.
