People in two vacant constituencies of Nsanje South and Mangochi East say the absence of Member of Parliament is affecting implementation of development programmes in their areas.
This comes as a month has now gone by since the Malawi Electoral Commission MEC suspended preparations for the court sanctioned Fresh elections in two constituencies.
The suspension has left residents of the two constituencies without elected representatives in the National Assembly.
It is on record that the Malawi Electoral Commission, MEC, was scheduled to hold fresh parliamentary elections in Nsanje South and Mangochi East on 29th September 2026, but later suspended the preparations, citing critical operational challenges.
Speaking in an interview, a resident of Mangochi East Jawadu Issah says they are facing problems in implementing development activities due to absence of Member of Parliament.
He says from the look of things, MEC and government seems to not care of the problems affecting the constituents.
“It looks like government doesn’t care about us, a lot of things are not going the way they should”.
According to Jawadu, people in the area are facing a lot of problems due to the absence of an MP hence appealing to government to consider them
Councilor for Katuli South Ward, Daud Shaib Chinkono, says residents are now turning to him with issues that would normally be handled by an MP.
He says the situation is also affecting the bursary programme under the Reformed Constituency Development Fund, with some needy students failing to benefit and are being sent back from school.
“For us councilors, our mandate ends in the ward and yet there a lot of things that are stuck because we do not have an MP” said Chonkono.
He says as it is their area has been left behind though the consillors are trying their best but they cannot go beyond their mandate.
Senior Chief Katuli concurs with the two saying that the Constituency Development Committee is also struggling to implement its planned activities due to the development.
“When we agree on certain issues they keep changing, making it difficult to move forward with development activities”
He says things are not moving hence appealing to MEC to set election dates so that they can also have a representative in the august house.
The suspension has not only affected the residents of the two constituencies, as one of the candidates in Nsanje South, Thomson Kamangira, suggests that MEC should consider borrowing election materials so that the elections can proceed.
“The constituency is suffering, there are a lot of people looking for school burseris which cannot be accessed due to the absence of an MP, You may recall that MEC once borrowed election materials elsewhere, they can also do the same and borrow from Zambia which had elections”
In his remarks, Centre for Multiparty Democracy, CMD, chairperson Boniface Chibwana, says the delay is a concern in a representative democracy.
Chibwana says Malawi has the capacity to conduct the elections, calling on stakeholders to find a common understanding to ensure that residents in the affected constituencies are well represented.
“It is important to conduct by-elections in the affected constituencies, whether there are issues between MEC and government” Said Chibwana.
As we are talking government through the ministries of Finance and Decentralization as well as Local Government have started disbursing funds under the Reformed Constituency Development Fund to local councils for developmental activities under the 2026/27 financial year.
Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency, CSAT, executive director Willy Kambwandira, has called on government to provide resources to MEC to enable it to conduct the fresh elections.
“Ordinary Malawians should not suffer because of disagreements between government and the electoral body” said Kambwandira.
In a written response, MEC Director of Media and Public Relations, Sangwani Mwafulirwa, referred us to the Commission’s statement announcing the postponement in which it acknowledged receipt of the funding for the conduct of the Fresh Parliamentary Elections.
It however, indicated that it continues to face a more immediate operational constraint arising from the continued inaccessibility of its Njewa Warehouse in Lilongwe which it describes as a critical operational dependency for the elections.
But some blame government for failing to bail out MEC from the current operational challenges.
Government has, however, denied the allegations.
Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr Justine Said, says MEC is a standalone institution and is not guided by the Office of the President and Cabinet in its operations.
“OPC does not provide funding to MEC and that the Commission knows what it needs to do to conduct the elections” said Said.
The two constituencies became vacant after the Supreme Court of appeal nullified the previous parliamentary election results following legal challenges and ordered for fresh elections.
Malawi Electoral Commission is required by law to hold by-elections within 60 days of a parliamentary seat or constituency ward falling vacant.
It remains unclear when residents of Nsanje South and Mangochi East will have elected representatives in the National Assembly.
By: Asiatu Deula
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