Ballot papers for October 7 by-election arrived in the country on Wednesday through Chileka International Airport in the absence of Political parties taking part in the elections.

Speaking after receiving the ballots, Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) spokesperson Sangwani Mwafulirwa said the absence shows that political parties and candidates’ representatives have trust in the electoral body.

“We invited all Political Parties taking part in the election and we did phone some of them this morning.

“Their absence shows that they have trust in us”, said Mwafulirwa.

The commission received 194 300 ballot papers against 177 843 registered voters which cost $31 000(about K13million) to print in South Africa.