Malawi’s registration bureau suspends issuing national IDs following Supreme court ruling

BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-The National Registration Bureau (NRB) has called off registration of Malawian citizens for issuance of National IDs during the ongoing Malawi Electoral Commission’s (MEC) Voter Registration exercise.

NRB Chief Director Mackford Somanje disclosed in a statement issued on May 9, 2020.

According to Somanje, the development follows the ruling of the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal that was delivered on Friday, May 8, 2020 that MEC should no longer register new voters.

The NRB was requested by the various stakeholders including the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs to also register eligible Malawian citizens for issuance of national IDs during the MEC voter registration exercise, however the May 8 ruling has instructed MEC to only allow those who voted during the 21 May tripartite elections to vote again in the forth coming fresh presidential elections.

Legible Malawians have therefore been asked to visit the nearest District Registration Offices or Post Offices for registration for the issuance of national IDs since registration for the issuance of national IDs is a continuous process.

Angella Semu

I hold a Bachelor of science degree in Agriculture Development Communication that I obtained from Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources. I previously worked with The Nation Publications Limited since 2018 before joining The Maravi post particularly on Agriculture Desk as an intern before I became a correspondent. Currently I am reporting for The Maravi Post mainly in International News and locally in the Southern region of Malawi.