LILONGWE, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) on Friday published a schedule for the country's general elections next year, which are scheduled to be held on Sept. 16, 2025, in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi.
MEC Chairperson Justice Annabel Mtalimanja also announced that the commission will conduct voter registration exercises from September to December in three phases of 14 days each across the country.
She said that currently, the commission, in conjunction with the Malawi National Registration Bureau (NRB), is conducting registration to ensure that every Malawian of 18 years old and above, or those below 18, but they will have reached 18 by the elections day, get a national ID.
She stressed that only Malawian citizens with the country's national ID card, or foreign citizens who have stayed in the country for seven continuous years, will be allowed to vote in the 2025 local government, parliamentary, and presidential elections.
According to her, the commission will start to receive names of elections monitors from contesting political parties starting Aug. 6.
The commission will announce nomination fees for the contestants in November, while nomination papers for local government, parliamentary, and presidential candidates will be issued in April, May and June, respectively.
MEC has since appealed to political parties and all stakeholders in the elections to preach about a peaceful campaign ahead of the September 2025 elections. ■