Road to 2025: MEC to use new electoral laws
By Phillip Pasula
MZUZU-(MaraviPost)-The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) says it will use newly introduced electoral laws in the administration of the 2025 Tripartite Elections.
MEC Chief Elections Officer, Andrew Mpesi, said among others, the recommendation for a winning presidential candidate will be 50%+1 of the total votes cast for them.
Mpesi disclosed this when MEC officials appeared before the Governance, Assurance and Public Sector Reforms Committee of Parliament on Wednesday, adding that the electoral body has undertaken at least five reform areas to improve efficiency.
“We are looking at the legal reforms. When you look at the current law passed by parliament in November and when you look at the constitutional amendments, this is what the Malawi Electoral Commission has been looking forward to. This law has been passed by parliament and assented to by the president and the Minister has actually appointed a date when this law should start functioning.
“So this is very key and fundamental to the electoral democracy in this country because one of the most important things in elections is to make sure that your legal framework is solid. And as of now we think that the legal framework that we have is very solid for our preparations towards the 2025 General Elections,” explained Mpesi.
Commenting on the review of boundaries for wards and constituencies, Mpesi said it was not an easy process.
“There are a lot of interests in this process. It is very difficult to please the aspirations of every stakeholder but largely there was a consultation process that took place and parliament approved it. For us, this is a very huge and great success,” he said.
He also assured the public that the technological system to be used in the elections by MEC is very secure.
Chairperson for the Parliamentary Committee on Governance, Assurance and Public Sector Reforms, Noel Lipipa, asked MEC to fully implement the new laws for better administration of the elections.
MEC will have to report to the committee again when it is through with all the preparations.
