Tag Archives: Malawi

POLITICAL LEADERSHIP MUST MEET PEOPLE’S EXPECTATIONS

By Jimmy Kainja[1]

20th May has been and Malawians have voted, amid reports of some irregularities and insufficient voting materials, which has caused panic, commotion and tension in at least 21 polling stations, mostly in the commercial of Blantyre. These are worrying developments especially considering that the electoral body had ample time to prepare for the occasion.

It is even more worrying when you consider that these polls have been projected to be the most tightly contested elections in Malawi. This means that the winner is most likely to win with a small margin. It is easy for losers to reject electoral results when the winning margin is narrow than when there is a landslide. These elections needed to be handled with extra caution. Continue reading

POST-ELECTION STATEMENT

MEIC logo.

MEIC logo.

Statement for Immediate Release

Malawi 2014 Tripartite Elections

Post-Election Statement

May 21, 2014

 The Malawi Election Information Centre (MEIC) under the banner of the Malawi Electoral Support Network (MESN) would like to highlight a number of observations noted as we continue to observe the on-going voting process. The following observations cover the period since the last briefing at 10:30 hours yesterday morning.

From the onset, we would like to state that a total of 4450 observers were trained and deployed in all the districts across the country to observe the voting process.  In addition, we also trained 25 data officers to capture reports from observers. Continue reading

Preliminary Pre-elections Situation Analysis Report

MEIC logo.

MEIC logo.

Malawi 2014 tripartite elections

Preliminary Pre elections Situation Analysis Report

The political context of 2014 tripartite elections – The 2014 tripartite elections in Malawi, which are the fifth multiparty elections and the first tripartite elections are taking place at a time when Malawi clocks 50 years of independence and 20 years of multiparty democracy.  Whilst the journey of the last two decades has been a political roller coaster ride, the period between 2009 -2011  had been particularly tenuous. The death of President Mutharika in April 2012 and the succession of Joyce Banda surviving a coup attempt by the senior Cabinet members of Mutharika government gave a ray of hope for democracy and constitutionalism. Things did start to change for the better under the Joyce Banda administration , however, in the later part of 2013  the exposure of blatant fraud and massive financial embezzlement of tax coffers by senior government officials at Capital Hill, commonly called the ‘Cashgate’ demonstrated the entrenched corruption and weak mechanisms to deal with it.  At the regional level the elections are taking place during Malawi’s chair of SADC and elections having been held in South Africa and to be held in Botswana and Mozambique.  A credible election in Malawi will no doubt have a positive influence on elections in the sub-region and the continent.  Continue reading

Pre-election Situational Statement

MEIC logo.

MEIC logo.

 Statement for Immediate Release

Malawi 2014 tripartite elections

Pre elections situation

May 19, 2014

The Malawi Electoral Support Network (MESN) under the banner of the Malawi Election Information Centre (MEIC) would like to highlight a number of pertinent issues that could potentially have both negative and positive impact on the upcoming Elections.

On the positive side, MESN would like to commend MEC for improving the flow of information and timely reporting and consultations with key stakeholders. We believe that the constant flow of information from MEC has helped reduce the level of bias on the part of the election management body.

Another notable development is the presidential debates. The debates have provided candidates the opportunity to dialogue with the voters and to turn the campaign into an issue-based one. As MESN we believe in issue based elections and we will support the sustainability of this initiative to ensure that Malawians vote for candidates based on issues and policies and not otherwise as has been the trend in the past. Continue reading

AN END TO THE DEBATES

FOR the first time in the country, Malawi held three Presidential Debates where Malawians got a chance to hear first-hand what presidential candidates had to say when presented with questions regarding their ideas and policies.

MISA Chairperson Anthony Kasunda giving a speech.

MISA Chairperson Anthony Kasunda giving a speech.

This added to the fact that the elections will be the first tripartite elections where Malawians will be able to vote for Presidential candidates, Parliamentary and local councillors. The Chairperson of Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), Anthony Kasunda “The May 2014 elections are particularly unique, as they come at a time of years of Independence” Continue reading

Meet our techno team…

Data OfficersAS days to 20th May, 2014 draw closer, the Malawi Election Information Center prepares it’s Data Officers.  As part of the Election Situation Room, the MEIC was to recruit Data Officers for the preparation of the Election Situation Room. The Data Officers training officially started on the 30th April, 2014 at Malawi Sun. The Data Officers will be responsible for the flow of information come Election day.

As a Data Officer, their role is that they will be responsible for data entry, data analysis and monitoring the real time performance of short-term observers deployed across the country. On Elections Day they will be receiving messages concerning what will be happening to all the voting polling station all across the nation. In other words this is what will be considered the situation room. Continue reading

PRESS STATEMENT: Second Presidential Debate

Pres. Debate Press Statement

Presidential Debates 2014

For Immediate release, 24 April, 2014

The multi-stakeholder Taskforce on Malawi Presidential Debates, chaired by the National Media Institute of Southern Africa (NAMISA), will hold a second Presidential Debate on Tuesday, April 29, 2014. The debate will take place at the Bingu International Conference Centre, (BICC), from 6:00 to 9:00 pm and broadcast live on radio, television and internet.

The debate will be limited to political parties fielding parliamentary candidates in not less than 10 percent of the total 193 constituencies. The same criteria will be used for the third debate scheduled for Victoria Hotel in Blantyre on May 6. Continue reading

Presidential Debate

United they stand: The sight presidential candidates.

United they stand: The eight presidential candidates. Courtesy of Nation Publication Limited

8 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES SHOW UP FOR DEBATE

Eight of the 12 presidential candidates showed up on Tuesday evening at Bingu International Conference Centre for the first ever debate Malawi’s history as the country is gearing up for the May 20 tripartite elections.

The presidential candidates present were Atupele Muluzi of the United Democratic Front, Helen Singh of United Independence Party; James Nyondo of National Salvation Front; Mark Katsonga of Peoples Progressive Movement; John Chisi of Umodzi Party; Friday Jumbe of New Labour Party; Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi Congress Party and Kamuzu Chibambo of Peoples Transformation Party.

For more details. CLICK HERE.

 

In a First For Malawi, Voter Verification Now Available On Mobile and Web

MEIC logo.

In a first for Malawi, voter verification now available on mobile and web

BLANTYRE – 21 April, 2014:

In a historical and electoral first for Malawi, prospective voters in the country are now able to verify their voter registration status using mobile phones. A web platform has also been created for the same purpose.

Registered voters in the upcoming Tripartite elections scheduled for 20 May, 2014 can now send a FREE short–‐message–‐service (SMS) to a designated short–‐ code and instantly receive details of where they are registered to vote.

The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) in conjunction with the Malawi Election Information Centre (MEIC) is rolling out this service, with technical assistance coming from SMAG Media UK, Ltd. and Code For Africa.

For More details CLICK HERE.

PRESS STATEMENT: Presidential Debates 2014

Pres. Debate Press Statement

Presidential Debates 2014

For Immediate release, 17 April, 2014

The multi-stakeholder Taskforce on Malawi Presidential Debates, chaired by the National Media Institute of Southern Africa (NAMISA), will hold a Presidential Debate for all 12 aspiring presidential candidates on Tuesday, April 22, 2014. The debate will take place at the Bingu International Conference Centre, (BICC), from 6:00 to 9:00 pm and broadcast live on radio, television and internet.

Second and third presidential debates are also scheduled for April 29 and May 6 in Lilongwe and Blantyre respectively, and will include those political parties fielding parliamentary candidates in 10 percent of constituencies across the country. Continue reading