Africa-Press – Malawi. The Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) says all is set for tomorrow’s local government by-elections in Shire Ward in Balaka, Wenya Ward in Chitipa and Lupembe in Balaka
In a statement, Mec says so far, the registration and voter verification exercises in preparation for the elections were conducted successfully between 12 and 25 July 2022.
“The Commission registered a total of 1,070 new voters in the three by-election areas of which 409 are male and 661 are female. This brings to 37,844 the total number of registered voters for the 23 August by-elections,” reads the statement in part.
Mec spokesperson Sangwani Mwafulirwa said the commission did a pre-inspection exercise Sunday and all centres have reported that they have the ballot papers and all materials for polling to run smoothly.
“Our plea is for people who registered in the three wards to turn out in large numbers to cast a vote for their councillor. We commend the people of the three wards for maintaining peace and order during the campaign period as we did not register any incident of violence, so we expect that the situation will be the same even as we vote, count and announce results.
“In past local government by-elections have been characterised with the low turnout but are urging people to appreciate the important roles played by councillors and come out in large numbers. They should know that it’s possible to win an election by one vote, so if they decide to stay home their vote might be the deciding vote for their candidate to win.
We remind all those that lost their voter certificates, or anyone who might not be able to trace their voter certificate as they go to vote, to still come for voting and they will be assisted to vote. They don’t need to bring a police report that they lost their voter certificate, but just present themselves at the polling station and the poll workers will assist them,” he said.
Mwafulirwa said the polling staff will search for their names in the voter’s register and if found, they will be allowed to vote, but if not found, there will be no evidence that they registered as voters, therefore, they won’t be allowed to vote.
“For people with disabilities, the sick, the elderly and expectant mothers, they will be assisted to vote with priority and not queue. They should just present themselves to the presiding officer or any poll staff present who will usher them to the front to vote. We appeal to all people that come for polling to understand and support this arrangement.
We still have Covid-19 around with us, so people coming to vote will be expected to observe all preventive measures as prescribed by health authorities like observing physical distance, hand washing and putting on masks. The commission will provide free masks to everyone who comes to vote or work on the polling day if they don’t have a mask,” he said.
For More News And Analysis About Malawi Follow Africa-Press
