Funds or no funds, June 23 Malawi elections must go on—MCP 

Malawi Congress Party (MCP) secretary general Eisenhower Mkaka says opposition political parties will make sure that the court-sanctioned  fresh presidential election is held on June 23 despite funding shortages.

Mkaka made the remarks on Thursday morning during Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC)  interface with  stakeholders in Lilongwe.

He said: “We will use all the available instruments to make sure that MEC is funded to conduct the election on the set date.”

Mkaka, however, did not indicate how opposition political parties are going to source funding for MEC.

MEC chairperson Justice Chifundo Kachale has said the commission has a budget shortfall of more than K8 billion.

“As the situation is, even if this money is disbursed now, it will take a few days to clear and the Commission will face very serious logistical challenges to implement this election,” said Kachale.

He said  MEC officials have engaged Treasury on the same and will this afternoon appraise Parliament on the challenges the commission has been facing and seek direction on how best to proceed with the election.