MEC Staff Should Not Be Linked To ‘Bloodsuckers’

By Bishop Witmos, MANA

Chairperson for Media, Voter and Civic Education Committee at the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), Commissioner, Dr. Moffat Banda has asked electorates in Chitipa to come out in large numbers and take part in Presidential election registration exercise, currently under way in Chitipa and Karonga for the next 14 days.

Speaking during a sensitization meeting to the traditional leaders under the area of Traditional Authority (TA) Mwaulambia on Sunday, he advised electorates to avoid considering MEC staff which has been deployed across the district to facilitate the registration process, as bloodsuckers.

 Banda said that,‘‘we are going to be at every polling station, and the danger is that members of community would look at every stranger as a bloodsucker. 

I would like to inform the masses in Chitipa and Karonga that we are not bloodsuckers. We have come to help them participate during the election, so that they can choose the leader of their choice.’’

He asked communities in Chitipa to trust in the Commission that it would run the fresh election objectively, adding that unlike in the past, officers to preside the forthcoming elections would pass through examinations.

‘‘During the 2019 elections, we were faulted because we did not follow a national constitution process which is disregarding the constituency tally centre and separating the two books which we normally use when we are recording our votes.

‘‘I would like to appeal to the masses to have confidence in us because when we started preparations for the 2019 elections in 2016 everything else went on very well except during the voting day where our presiding officers messed up the results with tipex.

“This time around we are going to recruit them through the examination since we want to choose people  who are capable to be able to do the job,’’ the Commissioner hinted.

The first phase of the voter registration exercise will take place from  April 4 to 17 in Chitipa and Karonga in the northern region, Salima, Dedza and Ntcheu in the central region and Blantyre city, Blantyre district, Chikwawa and Nsanje in the southern region.

Representative of TA Mwaulambia, STAMwakabanga commended the commission for informing them about the elections, saying that they would pass the message over to their subjects.