By Vincent Gunde

NKHOTAKOTA-(MaraviPost)-A sigh of relief has been brought to the people of Senior Chief Mwadzama in Nkhotakota following reports that the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) is consolidating complaints and suggestions of constituency and ward boundary demarcation exercise across the country.

Nkhotakota has five constituencies and during the re-demarcation exercise, no single constituency was added with reports that the issue of demarcation exercise was already dealt with in the district.

The development prompted Senior Chief Mwadzama to write the commission that him alongside his subjects were not happy for being left out on exercise in the district.

MEC Director of Media and Public Relations, Sangwani Mwafulirwa is quoted in the local press saying that the electoral body is compiling all the complaints and will soon respond according to how each grievance was presented assuring people that it will come up with its position before the final report on the demarcation exercise is released.

“We have received a number of communications and we are continuing receiving them, they are coming in various formats”, Mwafulirwa said.

The people of Mwadzama in Nkhotakota district have greeted the news with a loud of applause that the issue of complaints will now be handled and not as earlier reported that the issue was already dealt with in the district.

In a letter to Mec Chairperson, Justice Dr. Chifundo Kachale, Senior Chief Mwadzama said his area has a population of over 104,385 people and is qualified to be a constituency on its own basing on data collected from Zidyana and Mtosa EPA’s .

But the assertion dismissed Mwafulirwa arguing that the re-demarcation exercise is based on the number of voters in the constituency in the last elections and not the population of people, the response made many people in the district to question the demarcation exercise as not important to them.

In the letter, Senior Chief Mwadzama proposed that Nkhotakota South East constituency returning to its original boundary from Chilua to Chia and Lake Malawi to Mwansambo with Mtosa ward boundary as it is today.

The chief also proposed that Mtosa Ward have a new boundary from Chilua to Lipsyodzi rivers and Mkaika Ward from Lipsyodzi to Chia rivers and changing the name of Nkhotakota South East constituency to Nkhotakota-Mbonekera constituency claiming that it has geographical reasons and also is a monumental in nature.

“Lingodzi, Kachikho, Namasasa, Katundulu, Tokwe and Mbonekera schools are proposed to be new polling centres in the district to reduce the distance covered by voters to and fro polling centres,” reads the letter in part.