Secretary to the President and Cabinet Colleen Zamba has urged people in Dowa to register for the 2025 tripartite elections, saying this is the only way they can exercise their right to elect leaders.
In an interview after registering at St Mathias centre in Dowa South East constituency in Traditional Authority Nkukula, Zamba said it is the right for everyone to vote, but people must register first.
“I always register for elections, no matter where I am. I find time to come here to my village and register because it gives me an opportunity to participate in the elections and choose the leaders of my choice.
“I am urging all constituents here and Dowa at large, to go and register. Some of you do not have National Identity (ID) cards, but that is not an issue. Some printed cards have already been dispatched to the registration centres, but there are also National Registration Bureau (NRB) officials in registration centres who will help you with the IDs,” said Zamba.
A spot check by Malawi News Agency revealed that most registration centres were open as early as 8 am.
Ngoloni Zamutu, of Sangu village in Traditional Authority Chiwere, who was one of the first people to register at Kanyenje registration centre in Dowa East constituency, said he decided to turn up for the exercise because he has to take part in the electoral process.
He said was impressed with the setup at the centre which included the presence of party monitors, security, and sign posts to authenticate the venue.
Matilda Faisoni in her remarks said she found the process overall convenient.
“Some people think it is time-consuming, but I have only been here for around 20 minutes and my registration was done. So people must go because it is not a complicated process,” she said.
District Elections Officer for Dowa Luciano Tiferankhani said the voter registration has started on a good note, despite fuel challenges with no serious issues recorded.
“We had a problem of fuel scarcity during deployment, but thanks to some fuel supplies in the central region. By midnight on Friday, we had all teams deployed, and by the prescribed 8 am, all centres had opened,” he said.
Dowa District Programmes Officer for the National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) Alinafe Chikakuda said NICE has been conducting several awareness campaigns ahead of the registration exercise.
She said these include public rallies, road and market shows, loud hailing exercises, door-to-door campaigns, and radio phone-in programs, among other things, to raise awareness.
The exercise is being conducted in all 10 constituencies in the district.
Currently, there are 256 registration centres across the district.
