Malawi to have new electoral commission: HRDC demos to proceed
Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) says it will proceed to hold nationwide demonstrations on May 28 to force all commissioners at Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) to resign including Chief Elections Officer Sam Alfandika.
HRDC national chairperson Gift Trapence said the resignation of embattled MEC)chairperson Jane Ansah is a victory for Malawians who have been pushing for her removal.
However, Trapence said their planned demonstrations on May 28 remain intact, until all commissioners resign.
“What Ansah has done is what Malawians have been looking for, but that is not an end in itself. We want all other commissioners to resign.
“Further, new commissioners should be appointed quickly to manage the elections within the specified period as determined by the courts. If this does not happen, we will proceed with our protests on May 28,” he warned.
Speaking while addressing the media in Mzuzu on Friday, executive director for the Church and Society Program of the CCAP Synod of Livingstonia, Moses Mkandawire, said the current commissioners do not have the legal mandate to manage an election.
“We expect all commissioners to resign. They have already been proven as incompetent by the courts and Parliament. It will be unfortunate if they cling on to the positions.
“It will be honourable enough for them to follow what Ansah has done. The head is gone, why should they cling on? Whose interest will they serve because the majority of Malawians have lost trust in them?,” said Mkandawire.
Commenting on the resignation of Ansah, Malawi Congress Party (MCP) presidential hopeful Lazarus Chakwera said it signifies that there has to be a new commission to work towards the fresh presidential election.
Chakwera said the country now needs a commission that will serve Malawians with diligence and professionally.
‘”We look forward to the new commission. We believe that those, who according to the law, have the responsibility, will follow the law. Let’s put in place new commission that will work professionally, a commission that serve Malawians without looking upon their personal interest,” he said.
In its judgement on February 3, the five-judge panel of the High Court of Malawi sitting as a Constitutional Court nullified the May 21 2019 presidential election over alleged irregularities and tasked Parliament’s Public Appointments Committee to assess the competence of MEC commissioners.
The committee recommended that the commissioners be fired and a new team appointed. However, President Peter Mutharika ignored the recommendations.
But in its May 8 judgement, a seven-judge panel of the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal, while upholding the nullification of the election, also queried the competence of MEC commissioners.
MEC commissioner Jean Mathanga, Masten Banda and Linda Kunje are on record challenging that they will not resign until their contracts ends on June 5.
In any other way, resignng or not, Malawi will have a new commission by June 5.
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Time wasting
MEC team itapangika nsanga tipange zisankho tatopa nao awa. anenepa nenepa if not ndi stress bcoz tawadziwa nchito zao. uyu lufandika kupanda break during the court hearings akanakomoka.
tyeni tisankhe mwacilungamo.
Ndipo bolaso CAPITAL CITY ikanabwerera ku Zomba. ku LL mpaka lelo kumangooneka ngati trading centre. please
To this day Hillary Clinton calls herself the popular president of America. Yet Trump is the president through the electoral college ballot . Chakwera can seem popular all he wants. But Apm with a smile is president and will continue.
All this nonsense by the end. Muntharika will have ruled for 12 years not 10. He has already been your president for 5 years and again since May 21 and counting. Who is the loser??you will cry on 3 July. None becomes president through the backdoor. The courts can’t install Chakwera no matter how much u want to hate Apm, the ballot does.
Maloto achumba….kumbukira DPP olo yitalowa m’boma siimaliza SECOND TERM…..ngati mungalowe mwakubamo……enawo afera panjira…..komanso Cheya mumamudziwa inu….sitichedwa kulira malirotu…pompano…uwona
Ako malotonso okhumba APM atafera panjira. Uziwa bwanji udzayamba kufa ndi iwe osadzaona konse imfa ya APM.
Sane Malawians have learnt from Mtambo’s demos that the purpose is to make a name then join politics. That is why demos were being conducted day in day out.
Useless there are leaving their posts on june 5 , thats 5 working days after the May 28 demos.This Trapence guy is a fool. he wants to take credit for their contracts ending?? mudamukanika Ansah she resigned on her own terms.
Let’s demonstrate , why should we wait for their benefits to accumulate to 5th June??
Let them go as they have shown their incompetence both by public court as well as Concourt
Somebody tell this hrdc idiot that all commissioners are retiring on 5 June which is a week after their demo.
Precisely. Can’t understand why they want to waist huge amount of resources to manage a nationwide demo. They will retire anyway after merely ONE week.
And there is more risk of the pandemic for people to demostrate at this juncture…
If you all know thaton june 5 new commissioners are coming in. Why waisting time to go for demos? Are you out of sence? How many days left from today up to 5 june? Brain less as chimpazzeeez HRDC pagulu usaoneske kutchuka kapena kuchenjera mzalira nazo
They have no strategy. All they know is demonstrations which they even fail to manage. Demonstrations in mature countries are the last resort after axhausting negotiations without any ultimatums. There, they have good negotiation professionals unlike these amatures who just copy and paste.
Just round them up and let the mob work on them.
Oyenda ndi lupanga. This is how you yourself will end. Caught shagging someones spouse in these suburbs, neighbours shout wokuba! and mob justice takes its course on you.