Parliament passes bill to streamline elections in Malawi

The bill also seeks to detail the procedure for a second poll in a presidential election where no candidate receives a majority of more than fifty percent in the first poll.

Malawi: Malawi Parliament passed the Presidential, Parliamentary, and Local Government Elections Bill on December 13, 2022, with the goal of enacting a new comprehensive legal framework for the regulation of presidential, parliamentary, and local government elections in Malawi, writes Esther Banda.

The Bill also proposes to harmonise and consolidate the Parliamentary and Presidential Elections Act (Cap. 2:01) and the Local Government Elections Act (Cap. 22:02) into a single piece of legislation in order to improve the accessibility and consistency of Malawi's legal framework governing election conduct.

The bill also seeks to detail the procedure for a second poll in a presidential election where no candidate receives a majority of more than fifty percent in the first poll.

In his contribution, Machinga Likwenu Legislator, Bright Msaka, stated that as a legislator, he is very happy that they have introduced the existence of a Constituency Tally Center so that they can address the concerns that arise during the elections.

Msaka suggested that the voting materials be stored by the Clerk of Parliament as a neutral entity so that everyone has equal access to the materials.

"I thought I'd bring it up because it's important to ensure that electoral materials are kept by a neutral party. For example, when election results are released and you want to challenge them, you will almost always sue the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), and if they keep the materials, the potential for manipulating those materials to win the case is high, "Msaka elaborated.

In his remarks, Minister of Justice Titus Mvalo stated that it is a very important bill and that it makes sense for the voting materials to be kept by a neutral party such as the Clerk of Parliament because it will be easy to access by anyone if there is a dispute between candidates and the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) after the election results are released.

"When you sue in a dispute over a national election, you include the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) as a defendant. When there is a dispute in court and materials are kept by one of the parties during the case, it can lead to a suspension and allegations that the materials are being tampered with by the party keeping them. So, from that perspective, it is preferable that materials be kept by a neutral party such as the Clerk of Parliament "Mvalo said.