Mec impressed with 6th phase

By Jameson Chauluka:

Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) has said it is impressed with the sixth phase of the voter registration exercise which ended on Tuesday.

Mec Chairperson, Justice Jane Ansah, said, although the commission faced challenges in the exercise, preliminary results are impressive.

The sixth phase took place in Zomba City, Zomba District, Mangochi Town, Mangochi District and Nsanje.

Ansah said the exercise faced challenges which were common in other phases.

“In Nsanje, we started on a high but things slowed [down] a bit along the way. However, preliminary results that I have received are generally impressive because one district has registered over 100 percent of the projected voters. One district which we were worried with has produced 78 percent but we are yet to get results from the other two districts,” she said.

The next phase of the exercise takes place between October 8 and 21 in Chitipa, Karonga, Rumphi, Machinga and Chiradzulu districts.

She said the commission is engaging chiefs and stakeholders to raise awareness about the exercise.

Malawians will vote on May 21 2019 to choose a president, members of Parliament and councillors.

Registration figures from the phases conducted so far have been received with mixed reactions, with some stakeholders asking Mec to extend the registration period especially in the first phase of Kasungu, Kasungu Municipality, Salima and Dedza districts.

So far, Mec has registered 4,655,941 prospective voters.