Lilongwe, September 16, 2008 - United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative (ai) Dr Joseph Mugore has said UNDP considers the development and deepening of democratic governance as its essential mandate hence its involvement in supporting the electoral process in Malawi.

Dr Mugore made the remarks when he addressed the press at the Central Office of Information on the agency’s support to electoral reforms and processes in Malawi.

He said the involvement of UNDP in supporting the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) to conduct free, fair and credible election in Malawi is neither incidental nor transient but UNDP’s commitment to develop democratic governance.

The Resident Representative said the strategic plan that MEC developed in 2005 identifying areas that needed to be addressed for it to be able to run future elections more effectively, is the basis on which MEC and UNDP developed a project to marshal support to electoral reform in Malawi.

He said the two phase project is expected to cost just over 21 million United States Dollars with the first phase focusing on institutional capacity building for MEC and the establishment of a new computerized voters register.

Mugore said during the first phase UNDP, among other things, placed technical experts in MEC to support key areas of elections management, logistics, procurement, financial management, human resources and information, communication technology.

Activities in the phase also included the training of all MEC staff on elections management and procurement of an implementation of an electoral management system, Mugore said.

He further informed the press that phase two of the project is building on the achievement of the first phase but with particular emphasis on the actual conducting of the May 19, 2009 elections. He said activities in the phase includes the development of MEC’s internet, intranet and website to facilitate information dissemination to the general public, support to civic and voter education and procurement of equipment and material for the voter registration exercise.

Mugore then acknowledged the support of Department for International Development (DFID), Norwegian government, European Union (EU), Ireland, Germany, Canada, and United States Agency for international Development (USAID) for teaming up with UNDP to contribute to the pool of financial support to the elections in Malawi.

He said though the funds have not yet been physically transferred to UNDP by donors due to various legitimate and procedural reasons, the agency has undertaken to pre-finance the process to ensure that activities are carried out to avoid compromising the electoral calendar.

Mugore said, “… UNDP both on its behalf and on behalf of the United Nations Systems in Malawi and as a trustee for donors who have pooled their resources in the Trust Fund is committed to supporting MEC in the implementation of the electoral process leading to the successful conduct of the May, 2009 parliamentary and presidential elections in the country.”

He said UNDP recognized the media as critical partners in the successful implementation of the electoral process and he asked the press to continue engaging the UNDP and other players in the electoral process to ensure that the people of Malawi are continuously updated on the progress of events leading to the polls.