South African data storage company Computer Storage Services Africa (CSSI Africa), tasked with helping computerise Malawi`s controversial voters` roll, has beaten its deadline by a day.
A team from the company arrived in Malawi on 30 April, and was given one week to assist with the uploading of data and photographs.
The project was also able to determine the specific number of people who were expected to vote.
Problems experienced during the registration process resulted in an inaccurate voters` roll, which led to fears that the entire election would be derailed. Computerising the database resulted in the original figure of 6.5 million registered voters being cleaned up to 5.7 million.
CSSI Africa MD James Grcic says the team worked 16-hour shifts, alternating between two teams in order to meet the deadline.
The project was originally assigned to the Electoral Commission (EC), but it subsequently failed to meet the original deadline. EC spokesman Fegus Lipenga says power cuts and increased voter turnout were to blame.
"We had initially estimated to capture 300 000 new registrants but the overwhelming new registrations of 1.2 million new voters affected the timeframe for the completion of the computerisation exercise," he says.
The elections are due to take place on 18 May.
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