Local civil society organizations (CSOs) have called upon President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera to convene an emergency session of Parliament to restore electoral provisions allowing special voting arrangements for voters who, by virtue of official assignments, cannot be present at their original polling centres.
In a statement issued on Friday, the CSOs, which include Civil Society Elections Integrity Forum (CSEIF), National Advocacy Platform (NAP), Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) and Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC), have expressed “grave concern over a legal provision in the current electoral framework that threatens to disenfranchise thousands of eligible Malawian voters during the forthcoming 16 September 2025 General Elections”.
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Reading the statement before journalists in Lilongwe on Friday, CSEIF and NAP chairperson Benedicto Kondowe cited Section 74 of the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections Act (PPLGEA), No. 10 of 2023 as the cause of concern.
The Section provides as follows: 74. A registered voter shall exercise his or her right to vote at a polling station located at the registration centre where he or she is registered or has been transferred to in accordance with this Act.”
This provision, introduced following the 2022 amendments, repealed the former Section 75(2) of the Parliamentary and Presidential Elections Act, which previously guaranteed flexibility for voters unable to vote at their riginal registration centres.
The repealed provision stated: “75(2). If it is not possible for a person to vote at a polling station located at the registration centre where he is registered, the registration officer of that centre or other duly authorized officer may, on the request of such person, grant him written authorization in the prescribed form to vote at a polling station located in the place where he will be present on the polling day and in that case the polling station officers at such other polling station shall record in the manner prescribed by the Commission instructions in writing his name, the number of his voters registration certificate and the place of his registration:
“Provided that the registration officer or other authorized officer may at his sole discretion refuse to grant the request.”
Kondowe observed that this provision disenfranchises other sections of the people to exercise their right to vote. He warned that failure to amend the provisions will undermine the integrity of the 2025 elections, disenfranchise thousands of citizens who are in fact serving to uphold the democratic process, and erode public confidence in our electoral system.
“Elections are the cornerstone of democracy; hence, it would be unthinkable that those who sacrifice to ensure the process such as security personnel, electoral staff, monitors, observers, and journalists should be denied the very right they work to protect,” he said.
“Parliament must rise to the occasion and correct this legislative oversight now, not after the damage is done. Members of Parliament should amend Section 74 of the PLGEA to restore provisions allowing special voting arrangements for voters who, by virtue of official assignments, cannot be present at their original polling centres,” he added.
Kondowe further stated that failure to retain a mechanism for special authorization in the amended law is a serious omission that will deny the right to vote to critical categories of citizens, including security personnel deployed to maintain law and order, polling staff assigned to manage the elections; accredited monitors and observers and journalists covering the elections.
“It is estimated that this omission could disenfranchise approximately 50,000 eligible voters, a figure that is both alarming and unacceptable in a constitutional democracy. In the absence of an amendment to remedy the foregoing omission, the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) is legally constrained and cannot create exceptions outside the law.
“This inaction risks opening the door to serious legal challenges on the credibility and legitimacy of the 2025 elections. The Constitutional Court in the 2020 presidential election case emphatically held that “every vote counts and must be accorded equal weight and protection under the law”. Any framework that systematically prevents eligible citizens from voting, particularly those deployed to serve the electoral process, stands in direct conflict with this constitutional principle and the Court’s authoritative interpretation,” emphasized Kondowe.
