By Collins Mtika

As the morning sun beat down on Lilongwe’s streets last Wednesday, opposition party leaders gathered in an unprecedented show of unity. Their mission: to challenge the Malawi Electoral Commission’s (MEC) decision to partner with a controversial election technology provider for the upcoming 2025 Tripartite elections.

The alliance between the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), UTM Party, and the Alliance for Democracy (AFORD) marks a significant moment in Malawi’s political landscape, as these parties set aside their differences to raise alarm over the Commission’s choice of Smartmatic International Holding B.V. to supply crucial election management technology.

“The integrity of our democratic process is at stake,” the opposition parties declared during their October 16 press conference, citing Smartmatic’s alleged involvement in electoral malpractices in Venezuela, the Philippines, and Kenya.

The controversy has forced the typically reserved MEC to defend its procurement process.

In a detailed statement released on October 22, MEC Chairperson Justice Annabel Mtalimanja insisted that “the contracting of Smartmatic was in accordance with the law that regulate procurement in Malawi and that all the necessary due diligence was conducted.”

A Path to digital democracy

The seeds of this controversy were planted in March 2022, when MEC officials visited South Africa’s Independent Electoral Commission. That visit sparked Malawi’s ambitious plan to modernize its election system, leading to a complex procurement process that would eventually settle on Smartmatic as the sole bidder.

“The Commission is always committed to the principles of due process, transparency, and accountability,” the MEC statement emphasized, detailing an exhaustive selection process that began with three potential suppliers: Aratek Biometric International from Taiwan, Miru Systems from South Korea, and Smartmatic from the Netherlands.

However, by the November 2023 deadline, only Smartmatic remained in the running. According to the statement, Aratek withdrew, citing that “the requirements and specifications in the bid document regarding the device memory and internal storage were not aligned with [their] business strategy.”

Due diligence or rushed decision?

The Commission maintains it conducted thorough due diligence, including visits to Smartmatic’s assembly plant in Taiwan and consultations with other African nations using their technology. “Based on the information that the Commission has regarding Smartmatic, the Commission was convinced of its suitability and credibility,” the statement declared.

Yet the opposition’s concerns persist, particularly regarding result transmission methods and system verification.

MEC has promised stakeholder engagement meetings once the Results Management System is in place, stating they “will be guided by the need for having a system that guarantees the credibility, probity, and inbuilt verification mechanisms at every stage of the process.”

Looking ahead

As Malawi approaches its 2025 general elections, the tension between technological progress and electoral integrity continues to mount. The Commission’s decision to upgrade both hardware and software comes after discontinuing the use of outdated BVR Kits, which became a contentious issue in the 2019-2020 electoral court dispute.

The coming months will likely see increased scrutiny of both the technology and the process as Malawi navigates its path towards digital democracy.

With the opposition demanding independent ICT auditors and greater transparency, the success of this technological transition may well determine the credibility of the nation’s next electoral exercise.

For now, MEC maintains its stance, concluding that it “stands resolute in its commitment to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability throughout the electoral process.”

Whether this commitment will be enough to assuage opposition concerns remains to be seen.