Compulsory use of National IDs will deter most Malawians from voting next year, Malawi Law Society fears
Malawi Law Society (MLS) says its deeply worried with the recently amended electoral law which recognises exclusive use of the national ID as the only valid proof of voter eligibility for registration as this will deter most Malawians from voting.
Section 4 (12) of the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Act states that a person who is eligible to be registered as a voter in an election shall, as proof of eligibility, present in person to a registration officer, proof of his or her national registration issued by National Registration Bureau (NRB).
In a separate communiqué, MLS noted that while Section 77 of the Constitution gives all persons a right to vote in any general election, any impediment to the actualisation of this right goes against the tenets of liberal democracy.
Co-signed by MLS president Patrick Mpaka and honorary secretary Gabriel Chembezi, the communique said the amendment appears to tie the hands of the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) to register only those with a valid national identity card.
Part of the communiqué reads: “While this guarantees electoral integrity on one hand, it has the potential to disenfranchise constitutionally qualified voters, on the other hand, due to possible capacity or operational challenges that may emerge at NRB.”
MLS has, therefore, recommended that policy makers and reformists should consider practical ways of ensuring that the purpose and intent of Section 77 of the Constitution is not impaired by the statutory requirement of the national IDs to vote.
The lawyer’s body said this will ensure that no constitutionally eligible voter is disenfranchised in any national elections on account of lack of national IDs.
Further, MLS in the communiqué stressed that elections remain a tried and tested way to have the citizenry’s voice heard in governance matters of national interest, as such, ensuring everybody votes remains integral.
“Thus, the protection of electoral sanctity and integrity is paramount and key to ensuring the sustainability of democracy, peaceful co-existence and progress of a people.
“For all the players in the electoral cycle, therefore, the best time is now to make the September 2025 general elections successful, a true roadmap and a lifeline of the people of Malawi,” further reads the communiqué.
NRB Principal Secretary Mphatso Sambo recently acknowledged the urgency of the matter and said they had procured new printers that will be printing 1 200 IDs every eight hours.
He said this when appearing before the Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises Committee of Parliament aimed at providing progress on the registration processes, challenges being faced and how voter identification and national IDs are functioning.
Sambo said the procurement of the new printers to fast-track printing of the IDs will be an improvement from the previous ones which printed 250 in a day.
MEC chairperson Chifundo Kachale also appeared before the committee and said they were only registering as a voter, a person who holds national ID as issued by NRB.
He said: “For the 2025 general elections, the voter registration exercise has been planned for September to November 2024 as outlined in our operation plans.”
MEC projects that the country will have 10 957 490 eligible voters.
The projected figures show that the Central Region will have the highest number of eligible voters at 4 827 703 followed by the Southern Region with 4 706 285 and the Northern Region with 1 423 502.
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