It is now clear that losers in the May 19 elections will have an easy scapegoat for their loss. The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC).
It is doubtful whether political parties would readily accept the results of the elections following a spade of unsatisfaction and accusation over the problematic performance of the electoral body.
Almost all the players in the forthcoming elections including the major political parties-DPP, UDF and MCP-have risen up in arms accusing MEC of various disparities in the election process and commentators have predicted that if the problems are not handled properly chances are high that all the losers in the election will not accept the results.
However, MEC dispelled such fears maintaining that the results will be credible as the commission was doing all it could to correct every emerging problems.
MEC spokesperson Fergus Lipenga said the commission has already agreed with the political parties that the verification exercise which was dogged by various problems should be opened for a second round as a remedial measure.
“The problem of the voters roll is purely of technical nature and is in no way a threat to the conduct of free and fair elections,” added MEC chairperson Anastanzia Nsosa through a press statement released after a meeting with the political parties held on Thursday.
Nsosa also said during the second round of the verification exercise the commission will increase number of teachers who are verifying the computerised voters roll to expedite the process while political parties will also be free to appoint monitors for the exercise.
Mzuzu University political commentator Noel Mbowela said with all the problems dogging the electoral process chances were that losers would not readily accept the results of the May 19 elections.
“There is a lot of outcry from all angles which in the end will make the elections uncredible,” said Mbowela.
He said the problems which MEC was facing now could have been prevented if the electoral body was visionary and foresaw that these elections would be different from all the previous elections.
“They could have known that these elections are different especially after Muluzi indicated that he would be contesting but it seems MEC was sleeping all along,” said Mbowela.
He also said another issue that will raise problems would be the independence of the electoral body.
“MEC has not acted very independently. It actually failed to come with the right decisions at the right time. MEC lost some credibility because this time it seems the problems are enormous. How they are going to sort out the problems we don’t know,” he added.
Centre for Human Rights Rehabilitation (CHRR) Undule Mwakasungula said he was hopeful that MEC as a professional body will be able to manage the problems well but said the most important things was that the political parties should give their support to the electoral body.
“Political parties should look and identify the shortfalls and I don’t think MEC cannot just sit without any action,” he said.
Mwakasungula said it would be wrong to push all the blame to MEC while the body has been given questionable support in terms of resources to have adequate staff.
DPP secretary general Henry Chimunthu Banda who this week expressed reservations on how MEC has handled the registration and verification of the voters roll also hinted that if the problems are not corrected his party would not have trust in the May 19 elections.
Chimunthu Banda said the DPP was suspicious of the electoral body after noting that most of the anomalies in the registration process were mainly in the party’s strong hold.
The DPP secretary general could not precisely say whether DPP would accept the results if the party loses.
“If nothing gets corrected to allow all the 5.9 million Malawians to express themselves then you can fill in what that tantamounts to,” said Chimunthu Banda when asked if the party is accusing MEC of rigging the elections.
UDF Alliance spokesperson Humphrey Mvula also said with the current situation it will be difficult for the losers to accept the results.
“The results will not be good and will be hardly acceptable by most of the stakeholders. The problem is that MEC has become too large and turned into the electoral process itself,” he said.
Among several issues Mvula cited the current problem with the voter registration roll which he described as disastrous.
He also said the UDF does not subscribe to the idea that MEC should use manual voters roll during the voting saying that move can easily open loopholes for rigging.
“The opposition has not seen the registration records and has no control over cameras or the register, this information is controlled by commissioners appointed by one person who also has interest. There is a danger that they can create as many registers as possible,” said Mvula.
He called on MEC to rework on the voters roll, saying there was still time to do that for the sake of ensuring that there will be free and fairs elections.
MCP spokesperson on Parliamentary affairs Ishmael Chafukira could also not say whether the party would accept the results saying at the moment there is no question of the MCP losing the elections.
However, he added: “Whatever outcome of the elections will raise eye brows, especially if the DPP wins there would be uproar from all the players.”
Chafukira said DPP’s complaints on MEC as being hypocritical after the party has “all along thrown its weight behind MEC.”
“We know that there is a deal trying to hoodwink Malawians and fool us,” he said, while describing the whole electoral process as ‘very’ messy.
“Even the registration it was like a laboratory experiment while the whole process lacked consultation and communication with stakeholders. MEC has always been making unilateral decisions,” said Chafukira.
He also said the MCP has never been comfortable with the composition of the electoral body’s commissioners who Chafukira said were appointed without thorough consultations with all stakeholders.
