Election in Malawi conducted with professionalism, dedication – Group of observers

As Malawians wait for the results of their general elections, the Commonwealth observing group congratulated the country on having a peaceful electoral process to date.

The chairman of the Commonwealth Observer Group, Thabo Mbeki, commented that although the initial tally has been slow, the group of observers will continue to monitor progress in the coming days. He stressed the importance of giving the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) the time and space to carry out its work.

During the group's interim statement in Blantyre two days after the elections, Mbeki said that the processes of opening, voting, closing and counting at polling stations had been treated with professionalism and dedication.

He said: "It was noted that for the 2019 elections and for the first time in its electoral history, Malawi had adopted a process of biometric voter registration. In addition to collecting voters' biographical data, their photographs were captured. The voter registration process was also linked to the government's civil registration process, which allowed citizens to receive national identity cards. These innovations have strengthened the integrity of the process. "

The group of observers commended MEC for having made considerable efforts to implement the recommendations made by the observer missions following the previous 2014 elections.

However, he noted some inconsistencies in the application of the procedures, in particular after the closing of the polls, for example during the preparation of the reconciliation forms.

The group of observers stated that there were also inconsistent interpretations of what constituted a void or no vote, although they were clearly defined in the voting procedures.

The group of Commonwealth observers has been in Malawi since May 15th. The members were deployed to all three regions of the country, where they observed the electoral environment and the preparation of the polls.

Commonwealth support for the electoral process in Malawi also included the development of a toolkit to implement its media code of conduct and a workshop to prepare women candidates for election by providing leadership training in conflict awareness. and in the countryside.

The final report will be completed before the departure of the Group on May 28 and made public at a later date.

Read the full interim statement