Mtambo’s CFT demands audit of Malawi electoral management system, resignation of NRB boss

Citizens For Transformation (CFT) has demanded an immediate audit of the electoral management system, with much emphasis on the electronic infrastructure of the voter registration and voting system, before Malawians cast their ballots in the fresh presidential poll on July 2, 2020.

CFC ‘Commander-In-Chief” Timothy Mtambo argues that the current  system, which MEC used in managing the annulled presidential poll alongside the Parliamentary and Local Government Elections, cannot longer be trusted for the management of any credible elections in Malawi.

Mtambo, who addressed journalists in Lilongwe on Tuesday morning, justified his demand, stating that even the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) acknowledged that the system ‘had ghost users that were able to penetrate and manipulate data’.

“MEC failed to prove in court how this could not have been the case. If the ghost users could hack into the system as it was proven that they did, then the system is not credible.

“We therefore demand that IT [information technology] specialists from all political parties that will contest in this presidential election and all stakeholders concerned, must audit this system and approve of it before it can be used again for electoral purposes,” he said.

He said his movement would rather recommend that use of biometric system where voters would be required to use thumbs or fingerprints when casting ballots.

Mtambo emphasized that this can help to institute the credibility of a voter registration and voting system since thumbs or fingerprints cannot be manipulated.

“We stand firm that an elections management system that is not credible can never produce credible election results that would represent the true wishes of the people who have exercised their right to vote.

“We are aware that our allies in MCP [Malawi Congress Party] already informed the public on how NRB [National Registration Bureau] and MEC [Malawi Electoral Commission] are already abusing the system by presenting the manipulated data. But we join MCP on this quest to ensure that the entire voting system is audited by all political parties and certify, authenticate and insure its credibility for the FPE. This is extremely critical because it is very much connected to the registration of minors that is currently going on,” he said.

CFT has further demanded an immediate resignation of the NRB director Mackford Somanje for allegedly demonstrating outright gross incompetence and violating the law by registering children that have not reached the legal national identification registration age of 16 as prescribed by the National Registration Act.

Mtambo claimed that his movement had impeccable information that NRB had clear criminal intent in this exercise since the registration of minors was done in pursuit of a scheme jointly transacted with MEC to rig elections in favour of the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

“The DPP proudly calls this their ‘system’ and CFT is here to pronounce its vigilance to demolish this evil system. As result, we do not only call for his resignation, but that he must be investigated and be prosecuted according to law. We demand that this must be done immediately otherwise we will take our own legal actions.  As we see it, the perpetrators of these registration malpractices are enemies of the state and a threat to democracy,” he said.

On the other hand, the CFT publicity secretary Chimwemwe Maunde urged the National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) Public Trust to step up efforts in creating awareness and provide massive civic education by looking at issues that are affecting us now in the current electoral process.

Maunde said there a several malpractices by the DPP government such as the alleged buying of voter registration cards, facilitating registration of minors, and failure by MEC to do proper voters registration campaign, among other tactics.

“If Malawians have the proper civic education, they can easily resist and survive these tactics which are not good for our democratic election(s),” she said.