20th May, 2019
The AU on Monday stressed that its observers were set to inspect the credibility of Malawi’s tripartite elections slated for May 21.
The 55-member pan African bloc, as part of its independent election observation mission to Malawi’s election, had dispatched AU Election Observation Mission (AUEOM) to Malawi.
Ghana’s former president John Dramani Mahama, who arrived Malawi on Sunday is the head of the AUEOM.
The objective of mission is to “make an independent, objective and impartial assessment of the May 21 tripartite elections in Malawi, in accordance with the national, regional and international standards for democratic elections,” the AU said in a statement.
The tripartite elections in Malawi, include presidential, parliamentary, and local government elections and scheduled to be held on Tuesday.
More than 6.8 million Malawians have registered to vote across the country, according to figures from the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC).
The AUEOM to Malawi is mainly comprised seven long-term observers, 22 short-term observers, and six technical and training experts, it was noted.
Seven presidential candidates and 1,329 parliamentary candidates are contesting in 193 constituencies, while 2,709 candidates are contesting in 462 local government areas, according to the MEC.