INEC pledges support for Malawi constituency delineation

The Independent National Electoral Commission yesterday pledged to support the electoral body of Malawi on constituency delineation and improvement of the country’s electoral process.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made the pledge in Abuja while receiving a delegation of the Malawian Electoral Commission, who were on a study to INEC on review of constituencies and wards boundaries.

He noted that the INEC just concluded the expansion of voter access to polling units in Nigeria after 25 years of unsuccessful attempts.

“In Malawi, I know you’ve been trying to delineate your consequences since 1990, more or less for the same reasons that Nigeria has succeeded in delineating constituencies, but most especially the polling units.

“So, we’ll share experiences with you particularly over what we did in regard to the polling units. I think the major ingredient for success is the fact that we’ve consulted very widely. First there was a document, so we asked citizens not to judge us on the basis of what they think INEC is trying to do, but on the basis of what we’re actually trying to do.”

Chairman, Malawi Electoral Commission, Justice Chifundo Kachale, said in Malawi, the primary guiding principle for demarcation and review of constituencies and wards was that they should contain approximately equal numbers of voters eligible to register in line with this basic democratic principle of one-man-onevote.