The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has announced that it still has a K10 billion deficit needed to run Tuesday’s fresh presidential election.

MEC chairperson Justice Chifundo Kachale revealed this when he addressed the media on Sunday at the College of Medicine Tally Center in Blantyre.

Kachale had however said that the commission is optimistic the money will be made available since it was already approved by treasury.

He said the electoral body will use 50+1 system of determining the winner in Tuesday’s election.

This follows the decision by both the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal that majority votes means 50+1 of the total votes cast.

Kachale refuted reports that there are already marked ballot papers in other areas.

He asked Malawians to desist from spreading lies as this has the potential to jeorpadise a free and fair election.

Justice Kachale says 10,338 security personnel from Malawi Defense Force and Malawi Police Service have been hired to provide security during the election.

On Sunday, the 2020 Fresh Elections Observation Consortium comprised of NICE Trust, Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) and Public Affairs Committee (PAC) expressed concern that some MEC District Election Officers are refusing to grant accreditation to district observers deployed by member organisations.

In a statement, Chairperson of the Consortium Boniface Chibwana said the anomaly has been recorded in Balaka, Mangochi, Chitipa, Ntcheu, Nsanje and other districts.

In his reaction, Kachale said the commission has only seen the complaint in the media but promised to act accordingly.