Regional election observers have praised Malawi's general elections as peaceful and largely transparent while calling for reforms to strengthen inclusivity, accessibility and oversight of political financing.
The Election Support Network of Southern Africa (ESN-SA) and the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) deployed a Joint Learning Mission of 13 accredited short-term observers from Angola, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe to monitor the polls on 16 September.
The vote covered the presidency, 229 parliamentary seats and 509 local government councillorships.
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In their preliminary statement, the observers commended the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) for its preparedness citing on-time opening of most polling stations, availability of essential materials and a high level of professionalism among officials.
The mission also praised the peaceful political environment where rival party monitors coexisted without incident and voters patiently endured long queues to cast their ballots.
Voter turnout was estimated at 61%, reflecting what the mission described as "a moderate degree of public interest and trust" in the democratic process.
The observers welcomed innovations such as early closing of polls to enable daylight counting, priority voting for vulnerable groups and the deployment of sign language interpreters and tactile jackets for people with disabilities.
However, the mission highlighted several areas of concern and these included poor signage at polling centres, delays caused by biometric voter identification glitches, lack of provisions for diaspora and incarcerated voting and inadequate measures to guarantee the representation of women, youth and people with disabilities.
"There is still a need for targeted civic education, stronger campaign finance oversight, and infrastructure upgrades to ensure greater accessibility and transparency," the mission said.
The observers also applauded Malawi's inclusive stakeholder engagement noting the role of civil society's Election Situation Room in coordinating responses between the MEC, political parties, police and regional bodies such as the African Union and COMESA.
The statement stressed that the findings were preliminary and not the mission's final verdict on the polls.
But it concluded that Malawi had demonstrated "a strong commitment to democratic values," offering a model of peaceful, participatory elections for the region.
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