By Monica Banda

Mchinji, Thursday 9, Mana: Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) Chairperson, Annabel Mtalimanja, has urged traditional leaders to disseminate messages concerning voter verification exercises to their communities and maintain peace and stability during the time of elections.

Mtalimanja made the remarks on Thursday during a meeting with different stakeholders at Pinda Primary School in Traditional Authority (TA) Pinda in Mchinji.

"It is imperative for registered voters to come forward and verify their records and to make them aware of the coming activity. They can also use the live SMS platform to verify their records which started on May 5 and will continue until the poling day this year," Mtalimanja said.

TA Pinda encouraged his fellow leaders and all stakeholders to promote peace and avoid favouring political leaders in their communities.

" As local leaders, we should avoid favouring particular candidates who are participating in the coming elections and we must disseminate true news. My fellow chiefs make sure that you take the message that you got here to your community members to ensure that everyone has verified his or her voting history as a valid voter," Pinda said.

He also urged people to feel free to go and ask MEC officials if they do not understand what MEC said to prevent people from spreading news that can lead to chaos in communities.

Voter inspection and verification exercises will be conducted in three phases, each of which will last three days.

Phase one will start from May 13 to 15, 2025 while phase two will start from May 21 to 23, 2025, and the final phase will start from May 29 to 31, 2025.