On Tuesday, October 17, registered voters in the following wards and constituencies will go to the polls to elect their Members of Parliament and Councillors: On Tuesday, October 17, registered voters in the following wards and constituencies will go to the polls to elect their Members of Parliament and Councillors:
- Lilongwe Msozi North Constituency in Lilongwe District Council
- Mayani North Ward in Dedza District Council
- Lilongwe City South East Constituency in Lilongwe City Council
- Mtsiliza Ward in Lilongwe City Council
- Ndirande Makata Ward in Blantyre City Council
- Nsanje Lalanje Constituency in Nsanje District Council
I take this time to update the nation on the state of preparedness by the Commission and also share vital information for the voters and other stakeholders to ensure that these by-elections run smoothly and are a success. Recruitment of staff and deployment of polling materials
The Commission has engaged 793 temporary staff to help run the polls in all the centres. These include 62 presiding officers, 411polling clerks, 71 ushers and 130 security officers. The Commission has also employed 119 assistant presiding officers to help man the process in polling stations with more than one polling stream.
Distribution of all polling materials to all the centres has been completed. All the polling centres will open by 6am tomorrow, October 17, 2017. All the staff have received relevant training that will help them perform effectively throughout the polling and results management process. Polling stations will close at 6PM or when the last person to be on the queue by this closing time casts his/her vote.
Polling Procedure
Fellow Malawians you are advised not to wear or carry any paraphernalia that can identify you with a particular political party or candidate when going for polling. If you do so, you will be turned back to dress properly. Remember that no campaign material or activity is allowed within a 100-metre radius of the polling stations.
When you reach the polling station, you will be expected to queue. Centres with more than 1500 registered voters will have more than one stream, and here you will be directed by the usher to the right stream.
When you reach the first desk, the clerk will ask you to produce your voter certificate. The clerk shall then check if your name is in the register. If found the clerk shall call it aloud for the monitors and everyone present to know who you are. Then you will proceed to the next desk where the second clerk shall examine your right index finger to see if you have not voted already. Here you shall be asked to dip your right index finger in indelible ink. This ink is harmless to human. Make sure your finger has dried before you proceed to the third desk where you shall be issued with a ballot paper. The clerk shall explain to you all the candidates who are on the ballot paper and how to vote. From there you will proceed to the ballot booth to secretly choose a candidate of your choice. Polling staff are not supposed to choose for you or impose a candidate on you. Should anyone attempt that, please inform the Presiding Officer or the Commission and the Police immediately.
Marking the ballot paper
Voting is by secret ballot, therefore, do not be intimidated or frightened to vote for a person not of your choice. You will be alone in the ballot booth and no one shall know whom you have chosen. Even if someone snatched or copied your voter certificate number, they cannot know whom you are voting for. You will choose a candidate of your choice by ticking inside the box that is next to the symbol and picture of the candidate of your choice. Make sure that the tick fits inside the box and does not spill to the other boxes. If you cannot tick, then you will thumb print in the box. Make sure that you do not smudge the ballot paper because that can lead to the vote being rendered null and void. Do not write your name, initials or any information that can identify with you. This will compromise the secrecy of your vote during counting.
After voting fold the ballot paper in half with the marked side being inside, and then another half and proceed to drop it in the ballot box. By that time you are done with voting and you are free to go home and wait for results.
May I also remind all voters that it is an offence to disclose who they have voted for within the 100-metre radius of the polling station. You are not supposed to make any gestures, symbols or utterances that will reveal or identify you with a particular candidate or political party within the polling station.
Voting by persons with special needs
Persons with special needs shall be helped with priority. Expectant mothers, the sick, the elderly, persons with disabilities and albinos are not supposed to queue. Once they reach the polling station they are supposed to identify themselves to the ushers or security personnel who will usher them to the front of the queue for immediate assistance. Persons with visual challenges shall be provided with assistance as per provision of the law. The law says such persons should bring along someone whom they trust to assist them in voting but not making a choice for them. That person should be a registered voter. If they fail to bring someone, then only the Presiding Officer alone should assist that person. I appeal that all monitors and observers should understand this because in some cases they have wanted to see whether the Presiding Officer is ticking what the person had chosen or not. This violates the secrecy of the ballot and is unlawful.
Apart from the provision of the law, the Commission will also provide tactile ballot templates which will enable persons with visual impairment to cast their votes on their own. The clerk issuing the ballot papers shall also issue the voter with the tactile ballot template and demonstrate how to use it. The clerk or Presiding Officer shall lead the voter to the ballot booth and then withdraw to give the voter a chance to choose a candidate of his choice in secret. After marking on the ballot paper, the voter shall be guided again by polling staff to the ballot box to cast his/her ballot paper.
Polling will be outside and not in classrooms, which will make it easy for those using wheel chairs or with mobility challenges to access all the stages of polling process without challenges. The polling booths are also adjustable. They can be lowered so that the voter can still vote while on the wheel chair. Lost or damaged voter certificates
All voters are reminded to take their voter certificates when going for polling. However, if there are some registered voters who lost their certificates or their certificates are damaged, they should not despair. They will still be assisted to vote if their names will be found in the voters’ roll. They just need to go to the centre where they registered and present themselves to the polling staff. The polling clerks will check if the name is in the voters roll and if found, the person will be allowed to vote. If not found then it shall be concluded that the person did not register and will not be allowed to vote. Voters who have lost their certificates should remember to give the actual names they provided during registration otherwise it will be difficult to find them in the register if they change names.
Security at polling centres
There will be presence of Malawi Police Service officers in all polling stations. All voters are being assured of their security at the polling station. May I also warn everyone who may harbour ideas to disturb polling while in progress. The Police will be on high alert and will arrest anyone found perpetrating violence at polling centres. The Presiding Officer has powers to order anyone to leave the polling station if their presence is deemed a threat to the order of polling process at the polling station. Results Counting and announcement
Counting of results shall start immediately after polling is closed. No ballot box shall be moved from the polling station to be counted at another place. For polling stations with more than one stream, each stream’s results shall be counted separately and then the results shall be aggregated for that station. Every monitor is supposed to sign for the results and also get a copy for their records. Another copy shall be pasted at the notice board of the polling station for the benefit of the general public. May I appeal to all parties and candidates to ensure that they look into the welfare of their monitors so that they dedicate themselves fully to the task they have been assigned. The monitors should be advised not to leave the polling stations until the results are signed for. We have had some cases whereby monitors abandoned their work because their candidate was losing. It is not the responsibility of the monitor to make a candidate win or lose, therefore, they should not blame themselves when the candidate is losing. The Commission expects to announce the final results on Wednesday, October 18, 2017 in Blantyre if all go as planned.
Appeal to voters and leaders
I send a special appeal to all registered voters to turn out in large numbers for polling. In past elections, the turnout has been much less compared with the general elections. This trend is of concern to MEC and all stakeholders too. We should all join hands to reverse it and it all starts with registered voters by turning out in large numbers for polling. As a registered voter, it is your right and also responsibility to contribute towards sustainability and maturity of our democracy. The ultimate goal for registering is to participate on the polling day. If you do not vote, your are denying yourself the right to question the accountability of the leaders that will be elected.
Fellow Malawians, let me also appeal to traditional and faith leaders to encourage their followers to turn out for polling in good time. Traditional and faith leaders should not show partiality or favoritism.
In the same vein, I appeal to parents and teachers to encourage children and students who registered to go for polling to go and exercise their right to elect a leader.
In a special way I also appeal to employers to release their staff or provide them with an opportunity to exercise their right to vote on Tuesday. The Commission wishes all contestants and Malawians peaceful by-elections