The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) says it is impressed with what they have seen during the opening hours of the voting process.

The Chief Observer of the EU EOM, Miroslav Poche, on Tuesday morning observed the opening of a polling station at Namiwawa Primary School in Blantyre and as well as a number of polling stations around the city.

“This morning, EU Observers were present at polling stations across Malawi to observe the opening procedures. They have since been mobile in their respective areas, observing voting at a number of polling stations, and they will be maintaining their observation throughout the day and into the night,” said Poche.

“We will not offer any assessment on the conduct of voting until our preliminary statement on 23 May, so that we can reflect on the entire day and also the counting and tallying. However, it is pleasing to note that polling appears to be underway in all the areas where we have observers, meaning materials have been delivered and polling staff were ready,” said the Chief Observer.

The Chief Observer also stated: “Many polling stations have lengthy queues, indicating that Malawians are turning out in large numbers to vote. We hope the day goes calmly, enabling all who want to cast their votes to do so.”

Later in the day, he will visit Zomba to observe voting there before returning to Blantyre to observe the close of a polling station and the counting of votes.

EU Observers will cover polling stations in rural and urban areas and has 83 observers currently deployed across Malawi.

The EU EOM will issue its preliminary statement on Thursday 23 May at 08.30 at the Protea Ryalls Hotel. The preliminary statement will cover all aspects of the electoral process for the 2019 elections in Malawi.

Poche will receive regular updates from EU Observers throughout Election Day on the conduct of voting and counting, as well as follow-up reports on the tallying and results processes over subsequent days.

Source: Kulinji.com