High turnout for voter registration exercise – Malawi Electoral Commission

The voter registration exercise, now into second phase, has recorded a success with the first phase recording an upsurge of interested voters by 15 percent compared to 2009 figures in the same areas, according to a statement by, Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec),  chairperson Maxon Mbendera, who is also a Supreme Court of Appeal Judge.

He said the 595 602 registered voters for the whole of phase one registered a 15.45 percent increase over the previous election’s registration exercise..

According to released figures , the first phase that has just wrapped up in Blantyre Kabula and Blantyre City West, Chikhwawa, Mwanza, Neno and Nsanje has seen 595,602 people registered against 551,889 in 2009.

In Chikhwawa has registered 247,128 voters representing a 17 percent increase from 211,225 as registered in 2009. Blantyre Kabula and City West have registered 107,473 voters up by 9.03 percent from 2009’s 89,574 while Mwanza has gone up by 26.12 percent from 2009’s 43,350 voters to 54,673 this year.

Voter registration underway
Voter registration underway

As for Neno the number of voters this year is 61,116 up by 23.28 percent from 49,574 in 2009, and in Nsanje the registered voters have risen by 10.64 percent with 125,212 registered this year compared to 113,166 in 2009.

MEC, however, conceded to have encountered several challenges during the registration process, citing
camera failures as some of the isolated problems.

“There were isolated cases of challenges which were encountered like equipment failure but the commission did come up with corrective measures which have contributed to the success of phase one.

“The commission had placed rapid response teams of the councils to attend to the problems whenever they were reported.”

MEC Public Relations Manager, Sangwani Mwafulirwa has sicne said the Commission has since put up a rapid response teams at district councils to provide solutions to any challenges the registration process will encounter to ensure the remaining phases also record success.

The second phase of voter registration is underwar and run up to August 21 2013 to coves all the remaining constituencies in Blantyre City, all the constituencies in Blantyre Rural and Chiradzulu District and Thyolo North Constituency.

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