Electoral administration
Periodic elections have taken place since the restoration of multi party democracy in Malawi in 1994 and these will be the fourth competitive presidential and parliamentary elections. The 2009 elections are to elect a president and 193 members of parliament, elected in single seat constituencies, on the basis of universal suffrage using a first-past-the-post system. Both presidential office and parliamentary terms are for a period of five years.
The Constitution of Malawi establishes the Malawi Electoral Commission as the main administrative body in charge of the electoral process. The Electoral Commission Act of 1998 provides that the Chair of the Commission shall be a judge nominated by the judicial service commission and that there shall be no less than six other commissioners. According to section 4 of the Electoral Commission Act, the president appoints the chair and the other commissioners in consultation with leaders of political parties represented in the National Assembly. The tenure of the commissioners is for four years and may be renewed for a further term.
The Malawi Electoral Commission has a Secretariat, headed by the Chief Election Officer. The Chief Election Officer is supported by two deputies, one is responsible for operations, and the other for finance and administration. Under the direction of the deputies the Secretariat has the following departments: electoral services, civic and voter education, media and public relations, finance, administration and personnel. The two remaining departments, procurement and internal auditing, are supervised directly by the Chief Election Officer.
Section 6 of the Electoral Commission Act states that the Malawi Electoral Commission is an independent body, which shall perform its functions and exercise its powers independently of direct interference of any public official. According to the constitution its powers include review of constituency boundaries, determination of electoral petitions and complaints and compliance with the law. The Parliamentary and Presidential Election Act of 1993 mandates the Malawi Electoral Commission to manage the electoral process fairly, equitably and in a transparent and accountable manner. Additional powers under the Electoral Commission Act include general direction and supervision of the conduct of all public elections; demarcation of constituency and ward boundaries; registration of voters; printing and distribution of voter registers and ballot papers, procurement of election related material, establishment of polling stations, establishment of security conditions for the conduct of elections, civic and voter education, research on electoral matters and all necessary measures for the conduct of genuine and transparent elections.
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