Elections
Polling and vote counting to remain manual, says MEC
Ahead of the September 16 General Election, the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) confirmed that while new technology will be used for voter verification, the counting of votes will remain a manual process. After polling concludes, ballot papers will be tallied at each polling station, with results then transmitted to constituency-level tally centres. From there, the figures will be sent electronically to the national tally centre for aggregation. MEC emphasized that this process ensures transparency and accuracy, allowing political parties and observers to verify counts at each stage while maintaining the integrity of the electoral outcome.
The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has announced the introduction of a new technology for voter verification and identification ahead of the September 16 General Election, while confirming that polling and vote counting will still be conducted manually.
MEC Director of Media and Public Relations, Sangwani Mwafulirwa, said this on Wednesday in Mzuzu during the commission’s engagement meeting with members of the Nyika Media Club on the polling process.
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“This device will only be used to verify and identify registered voters at their specific centres or those who have transferred, as a way of tightening polling day processes,” he said.
Mwafulirwa explained that two copies of manual registers one for MEC staff and another for political parties will be used alongside the biometric identification system.
He added that voting will be done by ticking on ballot papers, with counting taking place at polling stations before results are sent to constituency tally centres and then electronically to the national tally centre.
He also highlighted MEC’s concern over the spread of fake news and disinformation, stressing the need for journalists to provide accurate information to the public.
Nyika Media Club Chairperson, Feston Malekezo, commended MEC for training journalists on new electoral technologies.
“We have been challenged to debunk fake news so voters receive credible information, and journalists must always verify before publishing,” he said.
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