The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has released the final projected budget for the 2014 tripartite elections which has been pegged at K18 billion. MEC Commissioner Reverend Chinkwita Phiri said this on Thursday to reporters after a consultative meeting on Malawi’s preparedness for the 2014 tripartite elections organized by Malawi Electoral Support Network (MESN) in the capital Lilongwe. Chinkwita Phiri said the budget is on the higher side compared to previous electoral budgets because of several factors.
“It has gone that high because we have taken into account the current exchange rate of the kwacha to a dollar because a lot of things that are in there require buying externally.
“We have also factored in the new polling centres because as we went through the country, people were asking for new polling centres particularly where the population has grown so that elections are brought closer to them. And there are now 4,450 polling centres,” said Chinkwita.
However, Chinkwita said it is more likely that the floating of the kwacha would affect the budget and that under such circumstances they will come up with the supplementary budget.
Full Article: Malawi’s 2014 polls budgeted at K18billion- Electoral Commission | Malawi Nyasa Times – Malawi breaking news in Malawi.
