Malawians turn out in numbers - Malawi - Elections '99 - Sustainable Democracy

BLANTYRE, 15 June 1999
They came in their thousands. Men, women with babies strapped to their backs, the young and the infirm, most of them well before the first cock crowed.
By the time the polling stations opened at 0600hrs, crowds milled around patiently in most of Malawi, through the first half of the day to dutifully cast their vote.

In the Commercial capital Blantyre and the outlying areas of Limbe, thousands lined up as early as 0200hrs, braving the biting winter chill on empty stomachs, in many ways demonstrating the seriousness attached to the whole exercise by the people.

At Limbe’s Kanjedza’s primary school, hosting seven polling stations with 7000 registered voters on record, at least 2,800 had cast ballots by
mid-morning.

“There are more people now than in 1994 because there is no intimidation.
You can see we have only three policemen and there are 9000 voters registered”, said Danny Nyalugwe, presiding officer in one of the centres in
Ndirande, Blantyre’s largest township.

Tuesday was not an official holiday but Blantyre was virtually deserted most of the day with little business activity within or outside the city limits.
More people were expected to join the afternoon queues as offices closed at midday to allow workers an opportunity to elect their representatives.

Election officials said a mix-up of ballot papers in the northern district of Mzuzu late Monday was quickly “sorted out”. The north, the least populated of the three regions with 1.2 million people, is key to the final result.

The ruling United Democratic Front (UDF)’s stronghold is in the southern region which has 4.6 million people while the Malawi Congress Party
(MCP)-the biggest opposition party-commands the central region which has 4 million people.

Of the five million registered voters, 2.4 million are in the south, 1,975,203 in the centre and 678,906 in the north.

The Alliance for Democracy (AFORD), northern domiciled, is almost exclusively the sole force in the area. The alliance between MCP and AFORD may give the opposition enough leverage to assume power and has caused much worry in the UDF camp.

In the country’s first pluralist election in 1994, the UDF took 85, MCP 56 and AFROD 36 in the 177-seat national assembly. The MCP leader Gwanda Chakuamba, who is contesting the presidency, has taken AFORD’s Chakufwa
Chihana as a running mate, a strategic pairing that the opposition expects to yield a superior tally of votes come Wednesday.

Eleven political parties are contesting the election but only five have fielded presidential candidates. The United Party and the Congress for National Unity are fielding former Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) secretary general, Dr Bingo wa Mutharika and Bishop Daniel Kamfosi respectively.

The first of the provisional results are expected in by 2200hrs Tuesday, according to officials at the elections centre in Blantyre. Delay might occur in far flung areas which are afflicted by lack of power or impeded by rough terrain.

“The election officers will fax the results to the election centre and where they have no fax they will drive to a place where there is fax and then they
will deliver the hard copies, signed by party agents and presiding officer, later”, said Roosevelt Gondwe, Chief electoral officer.

“We are giving until Thursday for hard copies from remote areas such as the north”, Gondwe explained. Official results might take until the end of the week, according to independent regional observors.

There were no major electoral related violence reported by mid-day in the urban districts and police and army units were on constant alert. (SARDC)