By Chisomo Phiri

The National Registration Bureau (NRB) has rejected  concerns about delays in registering eligible voters after the High Court’s decision on October 25, 2024.

The court ruled that the NRB must establish mechanisms to register eligible voters without national IDs at Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) voter registration centers.

Speaking at a press briefing in Lilongwe on Friday, NRB Principal Secretary, Mphatso Sambo, ensured the public that the bureau promptly began preparations to comply with the court order, including planning and resource allocation.

“You must understand that it is a process, and be assured that we acted immediately,” said Sambo.

He also noted that it was not  feasible to recruit personnel and prepare all necessary equipment for 2,100 centers instantly.

Sambo however, said despite this challenge, the NRB has recruited and deployed temporary officers who have been working with the bureau since June 2023 as part of the national ID outreach registration exercise.

He said the NRB has also reallocated approximately 1,000 Biometric Registration Kits (BRKs) from the Digital Identity Verification exercise, and the kits have been prepared and configured for the new voter registration initiative.

The NRB is a government department under the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security.

The National Registration Act of 2010 mandates the NRB to implement, coordinate, manage and maintain the National Registration and Identification System (NRIS) in Malawi.

The NRB’s deliverables include birth certificates, national identity cards for bonafide Malawians, identity cards for foreigners, marriage registration certificates and death certificates.