MEC Faces Serious Shortage Of Vehicles

Malawi Electoral Commission MEC has said is facing a serious shortage of vehicles during voters register inspection.

In a press release MEC chief elections officer Sam Alufandika says the Commission required 388 vehicles but only got 165 vehicles from government for the entire phase two of the inspection.

However, Alufandika says MEC has managed to open and run the centres throughout the period.

“Some of the vehicles that were provided by government were also withdrawn by the councils and ministries where they came from in the course of the second phase, further worsening the situation,” Alufandika said

He added that with the exercise taking place during the rainy season, the demand for reliable rough terrain type of vehicles needs no emphasis.

The MEC chief elections officer disclosed that the situation was dire in Neno where a tractor had to be used to deploy staff to hard-to-reach centres.

“Meanwhile, the Commission is engaging relevant authorities and also weighing options to resolve this situation and ensure that there is no recurrence in subsequent electoral activities,” Alufandika added

He stressed that despite the transport challenges, there will be no extension to phase two of the voters’ register inspection and verification of entries exercise.

Alufandika reminded registered voters to check the correctness of their registration details by dialing *2019# on TNM and Airtel networks

Phase three of voters register inspection and verification exercise will run from December 26 to 30, 2018 and will cover Mangochi, Balaka, Machinga, Zomba, Chiradzulu, Thyolo, Phalombe and Mulanje districts and Luchenza Municipality.