MEC Snubs Opposition Parties on Independent Audit Petition of EMS

The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has rejected a joint proposal from five opposition parties — AFORD, DPP, UDF, PP, and UTM — who had demanded an independent audit of the country’s Election Management System (EMS).

In a letter dated 6 June 2025 signed by Chairperson Justice Annabel Mtalimanja, MEC says the proposed audit was based on wrong assumptions, cited technologies that are not even used in Malawi’s elections and posed a threat to the security and integrity of the Commission’s systems.

MEC also argues that it had already flagged and shared all anomalies in the voters’ register including duplicate entries and photo mismatches, with political parties during consultations. It adds that no party submitted any formal complaint or petition after being given the full register in May.

The Commission insists it has a constitutional duty to operate independently and says allowing an external audit without legal grounds would set a dangerous precedent. It has since resolved not to approve the audit, but says it will continue to carry out internal checks through its own mechanisms.

“We take the MEC’s rejection of the independent audit as a confirmation of our fears and concerns. This is the missed opportunity on the MEC’s part to demonstrate that they are transparent and that they are ready to deliver a fair and credible elections. Our presented scope for the Independent IT Auditors was to review and validate the security, integrity, and transparency of electoral technology systems, such as voter registration databases, and result transmission processes.” Mukhito said.

Mukhito further said that the Independent IT auditors would have helped to enforce transparency, build public confidence, and ensure that the register is clean, election management devices are functioning properly and free from tampering or errors. Now that MEC has refused the audit, he says NO to any Electronic Management Device, period.