Malawi VP Chilima in Nigeria for ICT meeting in electoral process

Vice-President Saulos Chilima, who is also UTM party president, is in Abuja, Nigeria  attending a high level meeting on mitigating disruptive applications of information and communication technology (ICT) in electoral processes.

Chilima, who ditched the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and will contest in next year’s presidential race on UTM ticket after getting the party’s convention mandate  on Monday, left the coutry on Tuesday.

Recently, State House said the  Vice-President was expected to notify the President about his travels as required by government protocol.

The Office of the Vice-President (OVP) has said Chilima  has since notified OPC about his trip which is fully funded by the organisers and spent no public funds.

Special Assistant  to the Vice-President on economic affairs Milward Tobias said: “All trip expenses have been met by organisers.”

Tobias said  it is a “private visit.”

The meeting , where delegates are expected to share experiences on use of ICT services during election processes, is chaired by  former Nigerian president  Olesegun Obassanjo.

A report on the strength andc hallenges in the use of ICT and models of successful development of ICT in electoral systems  in Africa for sustenance of democracy  on the continent will be issued after a two-day meeting.

The meeting has attracted delegates who include former Heads of State, John Mahama of Ghana anf Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique.

This is a second time for Obasanjo’s invitation to Chilima following another one  in October this year.

In October, Chilima travelled to the United Kingdom, Nigeria and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, which State House said the foreign trips were made  without the knowledge of President Peter Mutharika.

In February 2014, Mutharika picked Chilima as his running mate in February from the private sector where he worked as managing director of Airtel Malawi.

Since he left DPP in June, the President has stripped him of ministerial positions and other functions assigned to his office. 

The functions of the Office of the Vice-President in the country are predominantly delegated by the President.

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