By Vincent Gunde
The Malawi Civil Society Coalition has expressed its deep concern over the conduct of some Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) officials during the meeting aimed at finding solutions to numerous concerns raised by Malawians ahead of the 16th September, 2025 elections.
The Civil Society Coalition says Mec Chief Elections Officer Shadrec Mpesi displayed unprofessional behavior, including emotional outbursts and table banging in response to questions from a concerned citizen.
The Coalition says the situation became tense to the extent that two security officers were called in to manage the incident noting with a great concern that such behavior is raising serious concerns about Mec’s capacity to manage the elections.
Writing in a statement, leaders of the Coalition said they observed that Mec is seeming to have already made certain irreversible decisions particularly around the procurement and use of the Smartmatic Elections Management Device (EMD) system.
The Coalition says they posed a critical question to Mec on electoral legitimacy if it is possible to withdraw the Smartmatic machines from its use in the interest of national unity and trust in democratic processes-even if some costs have already been incurred.
They say they are demanding immediate suspension of the use of the Smartmatic EMD system from the September, 2025 elections and public audit of the voters’ roll to be conducted by credible and independent stakeholders.
In the statement, the Coalition is demanding reaffirmation of commitment to transparency, calm and inclusive stakeholder engagements by Mec officials and re-evaluation of election preparedness, including logistics, communication, and coordination systems to ensure smooth and credible elections.
“The people of Malawi deserve an electoral process that is credible, transparent and inclusive,” reads the statement in part.
The Civil Society Organization Coalition has called upon all citizens, political parties, religious bodies and the international community to join them in demanding electoral justice, transparency and accountability saying Malawi is saying NO to Smartmatic machine and YES to credible elections.
The Coalition has finally assured Malawians that they will continue to stand with the people and advocate electoral systems and processes that reflect the will of the majority, protect democracy, and guarantee peace.
