‘SPECIAL VOTING’ CONCERNS HAUNTS EBC

MBABANE – With the registration for the 2018 elections set to commence today, the EBC has a thorn in the flesh in the ‘special voting’ process.
This stemmed from the concerns raised locally and internationally following the discrepancies noted during the 2013 national elections.

Special voting is one where a voter is unable by circumstances to be present in the constituency where he or she is registered, and is allowed to cast a vote either on a day prior to the acting holding of the elections, or in the country’s diplomatic missions.

In our case special voting caters for voters who are outside the country, who vote through the embassy offices abroad. It is also the process where essential services employees such as nurses, election employees, police, warders, soldiers are allowed to cast their votes a day before the actual casting of votes in the country’s 55 constituencies.

There were a number of concerns raised regarding the votes obtained through the special voting polling centres from some candidates and election observers.
At the heart of the results of the 2013 elections concern was those obtained from the special voting in particular those from the essential services employees dominated by members of the three armed forces in the country. Most votes from these centres were received with mixed feelings by aspiring parliamentarians.

2013 elections turned into farce – ex-MP

Many election losers in the secondary elections, had queries in the manner in which the voting for armed forces was managed. 
One former MP speaking on condition of anonymity lamented how the appalling management of the ‘special voting’ by the EBC cost many people seats in the august house. He said the first anomaly was that the special voting was not even gazzetted, and beyond that the aspiring MPs were not allowed to observe the voting process.

“In all honesty, the special voting process turned the whole elections into a big farce. The results were questionable in that apart from the fact that we were not even called to come and observe, one police officer told me that he didn’t see my picture in the ballot papers,” the former legislator said.

Going forward, the former MP has called upon the Chief Gija-led EBC to first gazette the special voting and then ensure that those contesting for votes are present to observe the proceedings,” added the ex-legislator.
The concerns were also cemented by the report issued by the Commonwealth Election Observer team headed by former Malawi President Bakili Muluzi which pointed to a couple of grey areas that needed prompt attention in managing the special voting process.

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