MEC Dismisses Staff Over Abandoned Voter Certificates

Investigations by Malawi Electoral Commission MEC on the abandoned voter certificates of Lilongwe have found that they were brought in Mangochi by a temporary voter registration staff.

MEC Director of Media and Public Relations, Sangwani Mwafulirwa says the temporary staff in question was erroneously printing the voter certificates for every person who came for voter verification which was against instructions that printing should only be done for replacement of lost certificates.

Mwafulirwa said after the voter verification exercise in Mangochi, the temporary staff forgot the envelope alongside other personal effects in the room he was sleeping at the school.

“The head teacher of the school who worked as a supervisor during voter verification exercise, took the voter certificates to a Malawi Congress Party campaign director and later to an aspiring MP for the constituency instead of informing the Commission, the District Commissioner or the Police,” Mwafulirwa explained

During interrogation, the temporary staff said he wanted to handover the certificates to MEC staff during retrieval after voter verification in Lilongwe but forgot and proceeded with them to Mangochi where he was posted to Thema 1 School.

“The temporary staff has been withdrawn from MEC ongoing voter verification for purposes of further interrogation by the Police,” added Mwafulirwaa

He stressed that MEC will no longer involve the head teacher at Thema 1 School in subsequent electoral activities because he behaved irresponsibly and showed politically compromised conduct.