Malawi to use biometric voters registration system in 2019 polls – MEC
Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) Chairman Justice Dr. Jane Ansah SC has revealed that her body has adopted and will use the Biometric Voters Registration System in order to ease some of the challenges faced during the voting process in previous general elections.
Ansah disclosed this at the opening of a day long validation workshop for the electoral body’s strategic Plan that will be used between the period of 2018 to 2022.
While admitting that there have been lots of challenges in previous elections, Ansah said MEC as an electoral body mandated to conduct and manage elections in the country, MEC always strives to deliver the
best product to the nation in the form of credible, free, fair, transparent and cost effective elections.
“There were always cases of misselled names, missing or transposed picture or wrong birth dates. The Commission has adopted a biometric voter registration system to eliminate all these challenges. This is
just one area of reforms that MEC is implementing but there could be many,” said the MEC Chairperson.
She, therefore, called upon stakeholders present at the validation workshop to openly give out their thoughts on how best to achieve successful reforms at MEC.
“This is the time to condense those ideas into this document [Strategic Plan] that will become our reference book for the next five years. We need to break the circus of recurring challenges to demonstrate that we are making strides in improving elections quality,” said Justice Ansah.
The 2018-2022 Strategic Plan is the fourth one after other strategic plans formulated between 2001-2004, 2005-2009 and 2013-2017.
The process of coming up with the latest strategic plan is being funded by the European Union (EU) through a basket fund managed by UNDP.
“While this strategic plan spans five years, let us also not lose focus that in May we will hold tripartite elections,” she concluded.
Who has given Ansa the mandate to use biometric registration? Is MEC above parliament?
The Electotal law provides how registration of voters should be conducted in Malawi. There is no provision for biometric registration. Only parliament can change the law. As it stands, Biometric registration is illegal in Malawi and this thinking must not continue.
THE BIOMETRIC DATA NEEDS PROPER ASSESSMENT TO ENSURE THERE IS VERIFICATION OF NAMES. WHEN I WAS COLLECTINGMY ID CARD, DPP OPERATIVES WERE BUSY TAKING PHOTOS OF REGISTRATION CARDS OF PEOPLE WHO HAD JUST COLLECTED THEM. THIS SMELLS A RAT
Too much money at MEC so everyday is a talking day. Tikukuwonanitu mungoti balala balala mtaunimu.
Kwacha, you must know that MEC has no control over MBC. It is mandated to run national elections. All the power to control it is vested in the MPs, but they turn a deaf ear especially the opposition in the hope that when they gain power they should use MBC in the exact way DPP is using it. If anything the opposition should fight to change MBC.
Biometric chani apa ansah. waika kale ma figures ndi itaye wakoyo sakudziwa ndani. a itaye Mulungu akukuonani
If MEC is going to allow MBC to continue what it is doing then elections will not be fair. MBC belongs to Malawians and should not be abused by those who feel are they more Malawians than the rest of us.. Free MBC from the smelly armpits of DPP