In a bid to strengthen Malawi’s democratic institutions, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Malawi, in collaboration with other development partners, has committed $8.3 million (approximately K14.5 billion) for the September 16 General Elections.
UNDP Malawi Resident Representative Fenella Frost confirmed the development yesterday.
She said the Malawi Electoral Support Project (MESP) Basket Fund initiative, which is running from 2023 to 2025, is designed to bolster the country’s electoral processes, ensuring free, fair and credible elections.
“The partners include the European Union (EU), the United States Agency for International Development (USaid), the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the Royal Norwegian Embassy and the Embassy of Ireland,” Frost said.
On his part, European Union (EU) Ambassador to Malawi Rune Skinnebach said the EU and partners reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Malawi’s electoral process through their contribution to the election basket fund.
He said, as in previous elections, the bloc remains the largest donor to the basket fund, which is financing several activities in support of the electoral process.
“The EU is the biggest donor in the basket fund, which is doing a number of activities to support the elections.
“However, the elections are primarily funded by the government, and the Malawi Electoral Commission has been assured that, once again, appropriate government funding will be made available, ensuring the smooth organisation of the polls,” Skinnebach said.
Beyond funding, the EU is also supporting key institutions such as the Ministry of Local Government and the National Registration Bureau in preparation for the elections.
Additionally, the EU will provide training for media professionals after the elections, as well as offer support to the Malawi Police Service in areas related to election security.
The EU will also be involved in election observation, with an exploratory mission set to arrive at the end of the month to assess the feasibility of a full-fledged EU Electoral Monitoring Mission.
“I expect the mission will confirm the feasibility, and then we will deploy a large EU election monitoring team a few months before the elections to assess and document the electoral process,” the ambassador said.
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