Preliminary registered voters for phase 5

The Malawi Electoral Commission is informing the general public that the fifth phase of voter registration went on successfully and has registered 881,800 voters against 756,372 who were registered in 2010 in the same areas. This represents 16.58 percent increase. The summary of the registration figures according to councils is as follows:

Council	registered voters 2010	registered voters 2013	Percentage Increase
Dedza South, North and East constituencies	141,412	164,606	16.40
Ntcheu	225,349	264,983	17.59
Mangochi District	367,254	426,872	16.23
Mangochi Town	22,357	25,339	13.34

Of the total registered voters in fifth phase, 379,420 are men representing 43.03 percent while 502,380 are women representing 56.97 percent. The total of registered voters for all the five phases is 3,759,602 voters.

There were some logistical challenges faced in phase five to the extent that some centres could not open for a full day in Ntcheu, Mangochi and Dedza. The Commission provided for an extension at the end of the phase equivalent to the period the centres were non-operational.

Detailed registration figures for each centre, ward and constituency have been uploaded on MEC website www.mec.org.mw and at http://www.scribd.com/doc/177335405/Phase-5-End-of-Phase-Statistics-2014-TPE-FIN-SS. The Commission is urging stakeholders to exercise caution with the statistics because they are based on preliminary information captured during field operations.

The figures may change during scanning, data quality control management and during voter verification as some people may transfer to or from other centres.

Meanwhile the sixth phase of voter registration is in progress in Lilongwe City, Chitipa and Dowa districts, Mchinji South and Southwest constituencies and Dedza West, Central, Central East, Southwest and Northwest constituencies. This phase will end on October 28, 2013.

The Commission is appealing to all political parties to ensure that they place monitors to monitor registration.  

Signed this 19^th day of October, 2013

Sangwani Mwafulirwa

Director, Media and Public Relations