No candidate substitution, MEC says: Malawi parties exchange barbs at NECOF
The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has said it will not allow political parties to replace—after the end of nomination period—candidates that the poll body may reject, saying parties should ensure they present candidates that are eligible to contest according to the law.
The commission’s chairperson Justice Jane Ansah said at a National Election Consultative Forum (Necof) — said they will not allow political parties to substitute sponsored candidates that would be rejected by the commission.
“It must be emphasized that eligibility for nomination to contest as candidates as President, Member of Parliament or Councillor is governed by law. The law provides for who is eligible or not. Therefore, it is advisable that the candidates you choose should be eligible to contest,” said Ansah.
“ If found to be ineligible the candidates will be disqualified. Once disqualified, there shall be no room for nomination by substitution. Political parties whose candidates will have been disqualified will not be given a second chance to identify another candidate,” she added.
Ansah said the nomination criteria is “very simple and straight forward and if adhered to we will not have issues of illegitimacy.”
She added: “ Let me also remind all aspiring candidates that the law strictly provides that that all public officers are not eligible for nomination unless they first resign from their roles as public servants or officers.”
MEC is expected to validate all presidential, parliamentary and local council candidates next year ahead of the May 21 2019 tripartite polls.
Meanwhile. Statistic provided by MEC shows that 73 out of every 100 eligible voters registered in the first phase of the voter registration exercise in Dedza, Kasungu and Salima districts.
The electoral body say this was a matter of concern and the commission is yet to conclusively analyse the factors that could have caused the low turnout..
Spokesperson for MEC, Sangwani Mwafulirwa said out of the projected one million voters in Kasungu, Nkhotakota and Salima, only 798 351—out of which 438 135 are females—registered.
“As MEC, we are not satisfied with the turn out,” said Mwafulirwa.
He however ruled out extension of the registration in the three districts, saying this would affect the MEC calendar as well as the budget for the elections.
But the main opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) secretary general Eisenhower Mkaka and ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) publicist Nicholas Dausi exchanged barbs on Tuesday at a high level elections stakeholders meeting in Lilongwe over who is to blame for the low turn out for the registration exercise.
As the stakeholders heaped blame on MEC for lack of intensive civic education, Dausi put the blame squarely on the MCP for its failure to civic educate its supporters.
“The MCP failed to civic educate its supporters in Kasungu, Dedza and Salima. They should have taken advantage of funerals to sensitize people the need to go and register so that they vote.
” They should have held meetings with traditional leaders and church leaders to tell their subjects and faithful respectively to go and register, ” said Dausi.
However, this annoyed Mkaka who said Dausi had no power to speak on behalf of MEC.
MCP pressed MEC to consider reopening the registration exercise in the first phase districts where thousands of people failed to register.
“We would urge MEC to reconsider and commit to reopening voter registration in these areas,” said MCP secretary general.
Phase two of the registration exercise started on Friday in Mchinji, Dowa, Ntchisi and Nkhotakota and so far the turnout seems promising.
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This is another step to rig the election in favour f ruling guys. In Malawi, once you express your nterest in politics and you are in opposition, law enforcers start looking for bits and pieces of your dirty past. It is only when you belong to ruling party that the law becomes silent. A clear example is that of Ngalande who had to face MRA after dumping DPP. Today the law has remained silent on bankrupt Mzomera coz he is DPPP
Ok. Ndale zafika pamenepa eti? Registration
To those who queried Manganya when he said “the biggest weakness of DPP government is that it is running government using so many illiterates and dull people” this is proof and Dausi is one of them!! He has demonstrated he is too dull yet a Minister!! You mean at this age, Dausi and DPP strongly believes that it is the duty of a party only to civic educate people to register!! Should we assume that DPP will never field candidates in Central region? Kodi moti DPP sikuona kuti zomwe akuchitazi akugawa mitundu and their act is nothing but linking regions… Read more »
Dausi is very stupid. How can one tell that these are MCP r dpp supporters. The thief was in the north cheating people there with development projects from which he steals money through kick backs by contractors. At the same time Ansah is proving to a devil 😈 worshipper. She is evil. She is notorious and not straight up like Anastasia Msosa. She can’t see the suffering of Malawians through dpp theft. She is a wife to the devil Pharaoh who didn’t want Israelis to leave for the Promised Land. We will still get there.
The problem of giving a big position to someone who is not educated. Dausi is a disgrace to our nation taking into account what comes from his mouth. He always utters rubish.
WHAT QUALIFICATION DOES DAUSI HAVE?????? WHAT WE KNOW IS THAT HE WAS KAMUZU’S MAID, CLEANING THE HOUSE, IRONING, SHINING SHOES ETC AND NOW HE IS A MINISTER HAHAHAHA MALAWI 54YRS HA, NO WONDER THIS COUNTRY IS POOREST, STUPID GOVT
This confirms the suspicion that MEC’s reluctance to extend voter registration in Kasungu, Salina and Dedza, all MCP strongholds, is on instructions from DPP as a way of rigging the forthcoming tripartite elections. Why should Dausi speak passionately on behalf of MEC? Should he not support the request since the higher the number if registered voters, the better it is for all parties? Unless, of course, he knowns chances of DPP making an impact in those districts are slim and therefore does not care if fewer people register.
Dausi, can u die now so i sensitize pple at your funeral to go and register.
Please die quickly
IT SEEMS AS MALAWIAN CIVIC EDUCATION HAS BECOME AN OBSESSIVE PROBLEM. WE HAD PROBLEMS WITH SIM REGISTRATION, WE HAD PROBLEM WITH NATIONAL ID PROBLEM. EACH TIME WE HAVE SUCH EXERCISES THE CSOs, MPs have to ask for extra time. THE CSOS AND OPPOSITION, WHERE DO THEY THINK MEC WILL GET THE MONEY. IF 73 PEOPLE OUT 100 HAVE REGISTERED, THERE IS NO PROBLEM WITH THAT UNLESS THEY HAVE A CANDIDATE AT THE BACK OF THERE MIND. YOU KNOW ITS A RIGHT TO VOTE OR NOT UNLESS THESE CSOS HAVE FORGOTTEN. MEC ,TIME IS MONEY AND GO AHEAD UNLESS YOU WANT… Read more »
Leave MEC alone. Go and preach to your supporters to go and register. I for one see no need to register in my district of Dedza as no MCP MP has carried out any rally. So asatifune lero a Mkaka ndi a Chakwera. Dausi auze zoona. MEC sipanga Civic Education but only accredits NGOs to do civic education.
koma Ansa, imfa ikukuitana. lero ukutamika ndi chinyengo ndi a DPP, koma usaiwale kumwamba kukuona