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MALAWI: AIDS threatens SADC democracy
Malawi's Electoral Commission on Thursday called on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to investigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on the region's voters.
The commission said the pandemic was already making it difficult to assess voter turn-outs in Malawi.
"The number of registered voters on the voters' roll is not a true reflection of what is on the ground," electoral commissioner, Monica Ngwembe, told the UN news service PlusNews.
Ngwembe said the lack of proper records of deaths to compare with the voters' roll, created the potential for voting abuses.
She added that HIV/AIDS also impacted on the running of elections, due to skills being lost when electoral staff died of AIDS-related illnesses.
Theme (s): Care/Treatment - PlusNews, Other,
[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]