By Burnett Munthali
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Secretary General and aspiring Member of Parliament for Lilongwe City Center Constituency, Hon. Peter Mukhito, has described the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) meeting as fruitful and said Malawians are now awaiting concrete responses to the concerns raised.
During the meeting, Mukhito strongly opposed the use of Smartmatic technology in the upcoming 2025 general elections, arguing that vote counting should be done manually to ensure transparency and prevent any form of electoral fraud.
He justified this stance by stating that Malawians have lost trust in the leadership of President Lazarus Chakwera, hence the need for credible and trustworthy electoral systems.
Mukhito also expressed concern over the current state of national security, particularly alleging that the Malawi Police Service is failing to deliver its duties impartially.
He claimed that members of the DPP and other opposition parties have been subjected to political harassment, while the Inspector General of Police remains passive and allows such injustices to continue unchallenged.
According to Mukhito, public trust in the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has eroded significantly due to its perceived alignment with the ruling Malawi Congress Party (MCP), which he argued contradicts MEC’s expected neutrality.
He emphasized the need for urgent reforms and independent investigations into MEC and the National Registration Bureau (NRB), citing several irregularities.
Among the issues raised were allegations of deliberate removal of voter names from the electoral register and the suspicious appearance of duplicate names, all of which raise doubts about the integrity of the voter roll.
“There is no need for Smartmatic,” Mukhito stated. “We need thorough investigations into MEC and NRB due to the numerous errors, including missing names and identical entries in the voters’ list.”
The DPP delegation to the PAC meeting included Peter Mukhito as Secretary General, the party’s Women’s Director Hon. Mary Navicha, and Director of Elections Dr. Jean Mathanga.
As the 2025 elections draw closer, the DPP insists that the integrity of the electoral process must be safeguarded through transparency, accountability, and responsiveness to the concerns of all Malawians.
