National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) have embarked on training community civic educators to sensitize people on their right to participate in the exercise.
Nice is accredited by the Malawi Electoral Commission to conduct voter registration education across the country with a mandate to mobilize all Malawians aged eighteen and above to actively participate in the forthcoming biometric voter registration slated from June 26 to November 9 this year.
Southern Regional Civic Education Officer for Nice, Enock Chinkhuntha, said with the changes in the registration system there was need to ensure that volunteers are well conversant with the new system before they start sensitizing the masses on the importance of the exercise.
Chinkhuntha said that apart from using its volunteer structuring, road shows and promotion materials, NICE will rely much on local structures like Churches, Mosques and chiefs as avenues in terms of passing out voter registration information so that no eligible voter is left out during the exercise.
“For those who are yet to receive their Nation IDs, it is clear that biometric voter registration will scan their printed receipt they received during the nation ID registration. There will be no typing of personal details again,” He said.
The participants were also encouraged to use sports and arts in their community as a way of mobilizing more youths to register.
“Our main concern is the youths, they have the numbers, they have energy, but most of them don’t want to participate in electoral process,” added Chinkhuntha.
MEC has projected to register 82, 418 in Neno and 3, 996,150 in the whole southern region.
Voter registration will start on 30th July in Lilongwe as part of phase 3 in the upcoming national voter registration campaign.
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