Ogot: Use of technology in African elections not foolproof

The recent order by Malawi’s Electoral Commission (MEC) for a manual recount of electoral results following massive voting irregularities was an inadvertent admission that the experiment with electronic voting technology did not turn out well for the country’s recent elections.

Like had earlier occurred in Ghana in 2012, where voting was extended by a day, voting in Malawi was also extended by two days due to electronic anomalies. Voting extensions are costly and, on average, could require up to an extra Sh87 million per day.