News / Africa
Malawi borrow electoral material from Zimbabwe
25 Mar 2014 at 08:41hrs | Views
The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) says electoral stakeholders and the general public should not panic with its decision of borrowing electoral materials from Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) saying the decision is in line with the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Electoral Commission Forum Agreement.
Soon after MEC announced that it is intending to borrow 10,000 gas lamps and 250 tents from ZEC, some electoral stakeholders like political parties and some Non- governmental organizations expressed fears that the forthcoming elections could be rigged in favour of the ruling People's Party.
But speaking during the official launch of the 20 May elections campaign in Blantyre, MEC Chairperson, Justice Maxom Mbendera, SC said stakeholders should not panic on the matter as the decision to borrow electoral material from other countries is welcomed by SADC Electoral Commission Forum countries.
"SADC electoral countries allows borrowing of electoral materials from other countries as such, there should be no fear of rigging. There are 15 countries under this forum, Malawi inclusive. It is false to say this may lead to rigging of elections.
"MEC is geared for free, fair and credible elections. It is false to say this may lead to rigging of elections. Some people are asking that among all countries in this forum why have we chosen Zimbabwe, the reason is some countries close to us also have elections this year so it is impossible for them to lend us the electoral materials.
"We could also have borrowed these materials from other countries within the forum but we considered the issue of distance. So there is no rigging process taking place," assured Mbendera.
Mbendera said the issue of the Zimbabwe borrowing Malawi electoral materials should not be a cause for concern as there has been a good relationship with the country.
The political parties' and some organizations' worries come amid reports that Zimbabwe has never conducted free and fair elections and the country has no good track record in electoral processes.
Some people have said though it might not be true that it is a source of election rigging, MEC should avoid any room for suspicion.
Soon after MEC announced that it is intending to borrow 10,000 gas lamps and 250 tents from ZEC, some electoral stakeholders like political parties and some Non- governmental organizations expressed fears that the forthcoming elections could be rigged in favour of the ruling People's Party.
But speaking during the official launch of the 20 May elections campaign in Blantyre, MEC Chairperson, Justice Maxom Mbendera, SC said stakeholders should not panic on the matter as the decision to borrow electoral material from other countries is welcomed by SADC Electoral Commission Forum countries.
"SADC electoral countries allows borrowing of electoral materials from other countries as such, there should be no fear of rigging. There are 15 countries under this forum, Malawi inclusive. It is false to say this may lead to rigging of elections.
"MEC is geared for free, fair and credible elections. It is false to say this may lead to rigging of elections. Some people are asking that among all countries in this forum why have we chosen Zimbabwe, the reason is some countries close to us also have elections this year so it is impossible for them to lend us the electoral materials.
"We could also have borrowed these materials from other countries within the forum but we considered the issue of distance. So there is no rigging process taking place," assured Mbendera.
Mbendera said the issue of the Zimbabwe borrowing Malawi electoral materials should not be a cause for concern as there has been a good relationship with the country.
The political parties' and some organizations' worries come amid reports that Zimbabwe has never conducted free and fair elections and the country has no good track record in electoral processes.
Some people have said though it might not be true that it is a source of election rigging, MEC should avoid any room for suspicion.
Source - MNA
