The arrival of the ballots were witnessed by representatives of
political parties including officials of the Electoral Commission
amidst heavy security presence.The ballot papers were printed at
Kalamazoo in the UK.
Chairwoman of the electoral body, Anastasia Msosa has assured that they
will be kept under tight security measures.The ballot papers include
the names of eligible presidential and parliamentary candidates for the
2009 elections.
Meanwhile, the Commission it has completed the voters roll verification
exercise but is aware there may be errors such as wrong spelling of
surnames, dates of birth and gender. But Msosa said the errors will not
in any way disenfranchise voters. She also announced the cancellation
of a second voters roll verification exercise due to lack of time.
Msosa said a second verification process could mean shifting the
elections date, according to the news agency.
But Msosa said the first verification exercise is "practically" over
but there are less than 400 centers to be covered after completing
3,167 registration centers out of 4000 centers that had serious
defects.
"As of this morning, 3,167 registration centers have been checked and
the remaining centers had either zero or less than 10 percent
discrepancy. The remaining centers should not take the commission long
to complete before we start printing," she said.
Msosa said among the corrections rectified were names that were placed in wrong registration centers.
"MEC staff is working around the clock to make sure the details in the
register will be as accurate as possible on the election day to serve
Malawians well. Parties will be getting the electronic version of the
register," the official was quoted.
She said printing of the voters roll would start immediately and it was expected to be through by May 16, 2009.
Nyasa Times
Post published in: Zimbabwe News