Malawi unveils measures to expedite ID issuance for biometric voter registration

Malawi’s National Registration Bureau (NRB) says it is fully complying with a High Court ruling of October 25 which directed that it makes sure everything is done to enable all eligible citizens obtain a national ID card for biometric voter registration.

In a recent press statement issued November 21, the NRB Principal Secretary, Mak Sambo, said measures have been taken to ensure that a Unique National ID number is issued to an applicant within 24 hours after the registration process is completed.

In the statement, Sambo outlined all the steps involved for every citizen to complete the ID card application process.

He said the application process begins with the filing of the NR1 Form by the applicant, and continues with the verification of proof of citizenship by an NRB official, a process which is done through the applicant’s parents, two community witnesses or evidence from the village head. After that, the applicant’s data is entered into the NRB system.

From here, other steps that follow include the capture of the applicant’s face and fingerprint biometrics and their signature, after which an Application Confirmation Receipt is issued which contains proof of biometric capture and other details which shall appear on the ID card.

Once this is done, the registration data is transferred to the central server where the system runs an automatic check for uniqueness of the application record by comparing the biometrics of the new entry with existing data.

After the adjudication and deduplication process, the system then assigns a Unique national ID number to the record of the registrant. It is considered at this point that the individual is officially registered with the NRB and they are issued a Sticker Number 2 as proof of registration, which makes them eligible for voter registration with the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC).

The record, per the NRB, is later assigned to a printing machine for the production of a physical national ID card, which is then distributed to collection points indicated by the registrant.

Sambo assured that steps have been taken to quicken the national ID registration process for all new registrants to assist them with voter registration during the next phase of the exercise.

Biometric registration in Malawi is a three-phased activity which started on October 21. The second phase ran from November 9 – 22, while the last phase will take place November 28 to December 11.

On Sunday, the MEC called on Malawians to get ready for the last phase of the exercise which will take place in eight councils.

Malawi committed to nationwide ID coverage

The NRB issued the November 21 statement at the same time it also granted a press conference, which was principally to give information on how the NRB is working to register eligible Malawians for voter registration and its efforts to make everyone in the country own a national ID card.

Speaking at the presser, Sambo said the NRB had taken measures to ensure that all persons eligible for voter registration, and who do not have a proof of identity issued by the NRB, can be assisted to make sure they register for the elections.

Sambo said teams from the NRB are available at all MEC centers to assist citizens with the national ID registration process. He added that all those who have registered for an ID but have not collected, or have collected and lost it, can still proceed with voter registration as the NRB will provide digital ID verification in such cases. Enough of the digital ID verification equipment for this purpose, he said, have been acquired by the NRB. He also mentioned that about 1,000 biometric kits have been reconfigured for the new registration drive.

The NRB official also used the press conference to reiterate the commitment of the Malawian government to reaching the SDG 16.9 target, saying the country is working to make sure every citizen has a legal identity by 2025. This, he says, is premised on a nationwide campaign to strengthen birth registration in the country.

Ther country established a biometric national registry at breakneck speed and is said to already have a high rate of ID issuance.

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  deduplication  |  legal identity  |  Malawi  |  national ID  |  National Registration Bureau (NRB)  |  voter registration