By Thandie Chadzandiyani
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) says will hold public hearings across the country to discuss and get final feedback from stakeholders regarding the preliminary maps on the review of constituency and ward boundaries.
MEC Commissioner Olivia Mchaju Liwewe told the news conference on Saturday, April 9, 2022 in the capital Lilongwe that the exercise meant to equalize number of constituents against lawmaker.
“Let me at this juncture state that the review of boundaries was not intended to increase constituencies, but it was an effort made to equalize the numbers of voters for each Member of Parliament (MPs) so that legislators represent almost equal numbers of voters as prescribed by Law,” said Liwewe.
The Commission is preparing towards holding by-elections hence the time the public hearings are concluded, the Commission will have released a calendar for holding the by-elections.
She added, “Once the report has been confirmed by the National Assembly, the Commission will proceed to print the new constituency and ward maps, publish them in the Gazette and distribute to all relevant stakeholders by 2023 so that people familiarise themselves with the boundaries in time for the 2025 elections preparations”.
Emphasizing the matter, the Commission appealed to electoral stakeholders to take the public hearings seriously and not fail to attend.
“The public hearings are the last public activity on the calendar for boundary review.
After this activity, the public will not have any chance to provide views and ideas to the Commission on the matter,” added Liwewe.
