Ansah resigns as MEC chairperson: Pens Malawi leader

The embattled Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Jane Ansah  has disclosed that she has resigned from her position and has written  President Peter Mutharika as the appointing authority informing him about her decision.

Ansah: I have written the appointing authority that I am stepping aside

Ansah revealed this on Thursday evening  in an exclusive television interview with public broadcaster  Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC)

However, Ansah said she is yet to get a response from President Mutharika.

“But I believe  he respects my decision,” said Ansah, a judge of the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal.

Ansah also said her decision to resign stems from a fact that  Supreme Court upheld the  High Court sitting as the Constitutional Court  ruling annulling the May 2019 presidential elections and faulted MEC   to have been mismanaged the polls.

“I leave full of confidence. I have worked with clean hands and I have no skeletons in my cupboard. I have fought a good fight and I am happy that I have seen it to the end,” she said.

Ansah said she was not moved by demonstrations against her which where organised by Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC), saying they were acts of lawlessness.

“The right to demostrate has a limitation because the constitution says demos must be peaceful, the demos were not peaceful and ceased to be a right. I could not budge to demostrations (lawlessness) because that would have set a very bad precedence,”’said Ansah.

Justice Jane Ansah.

 

On April 1 2020 MEC chief elections officer Sam Alfandika told Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee that the commission wrote President Mutharika to consider hiring new commissioners as the current ones’ tenure is expiring on June 5.

Legal scholars have since asked Mutharika to enhance the credibility of the  forthcoming presidential election by replacing the commissioners.

Garton Kamchedzera, a professor of law at Chancellor College, a constituent college of the University of Malawi, said under the circumstances, it is in the best interest of Malawians for the President to appoint a new commission.

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Mofolo
Mofolo
4 years ago

Fare thee well twine times like this hard a a citizen your calibre to find. Prophetess not honoured, despised, chastised, insulted, strong thou stayeth, a beacon of many female kindred thou remainest in my memory. Go thee and blossom.

Changu
Changu
4 years ago

Whatever your motives are with your fellow eejits, its good you are gone and mind you it’s hot where you are going, mumudziwe yesuu!!

Fifa
Fifa
4 years ago

Our HERO Jane Ansah! A real model.

Ruben Kacheche
Ruben Kacheche
4 years ago

The next thing Boma will say kulibe oyendetsa zisankho…basi zakanika…….this can be a strategy for these guys. Jappie ndi uyo wayamba kunena kutiu 10 cases of covid19…tomorrow he will say 15

mchisala
mchisala
4 years ago

Incompetent Ansah broke so many laws relating to elections (even under PPE Part XII(e)) that I find it so laughable that ‘zero-integrity’ Ansah has the ‘guts’ to point fingers at, much less condemn the many acts of ‘lawlessness’ of ‘peaceful demonstrators’ that never happened. No demonstrator perpetrated violence or engaged in any acts violence, it was VANDALS that wrecked mayhem most of them supporters of clueless Mutharika!!!.

Ndikhetsamwazi Chakwera

No more scapegoats for loosing elections. There will be no tippex, no Jane Ansah. You lose this time palibe kulira. Mcp has not accepted a single election without complaint since 1994. Dare do it this time. Muwona Nyekhwe Yeni Yeni. We are going to vote we are confident of the Dpp- Udf alliance it doesn’t look like we are popular because you have been violent and vocal, but like they say about empty tins. Anyway Voti ndimumtima. You lose this time don’t dare talk nonsense.

Mtete
Mtete
4 years ago

The reason MCP has not accepted losing an election is because every one has been rigged. It’s just that the opposition, encouraged by the majority of Malawians, were fed up and felt enough was enough and decided to take legal action which has led us to where we are now.
Ansah and APM miscalculated and thought they would rig, let the opposition go to court, bribe a judge to rule “no case” and that’s it. Wrong this time.

Mbewa
Mbewa
4 years ago
Reply to  Mtete

DPP has never voted into power during the reign of APM. All we know is kubela basi, this time around ng,ombe zayang,ana Ku dazi board

Nicholous
Nicholous
4 years ago

Watigwira singing

KotiMan
KotiMan
4 years ago

Iwe ndi galu kwabasi

Bakali
4 years ago

It’s the presidents prerogative to appoint Mec chairperson from recommendations by the court and PAC. Which he will do.Nde wina azatinso wabeledwa this time. Muzawona zakuda 2020 game zikwanje. We will not to relate this shit any longer.

#NotMyPresident
#NotMyPresident
4 years ago
Reply to  Bakali

2020 is already here and zikanje means mmene anthu athanirane nazo.

KotiMan
KotiMan
4 years ago
Reply to  Bakali

Zayamba kukhapa iweyo

Noxy
4 years ago

Jane Ansah you are a hero I admire your intelligence,your wisdom and your coolness,your stance on justice when injustice people gang up for you to manipulate justice.That character makes you one of the strongest persons on earth. God is with You be blessed always.

Mwene
Mwene
4 years ago

The MEC CEO should also step down or sent on long leave until after Elections.

Nicholous
Nicholous
4 years ago
Reply to  Mwene

Ndiye akuyenera kupitanso. Munthu azikhala wosayinira yekha ma check ndiwo umbavawo

Donda wa Donda
Donda wa Donda
4 years ago

Please note that she has not resigned. She has asked for the resignation from the president. Once allowed she will then effect here resignation which will automatically allow her to stay until the end of her contract. She will possibly preside over the next elections and then go home. She just wants to sound relevant to the public call! After all, why has she taken all this long ever since the Supreme Court validated her incompetency? A well-learned judge needed to resign immediately after the judgment not buying time they way she has done! This is the governance fallout that… Read more »

Mariana
Mariana
4 years ago
Reply to  Donda wa Donda

I agree with Donda wa Donda. Mai uyu ndi mwamuna wake pitala just want to buy time. She has not resigned. According to her audio akuti she has just stepped aside. Educate me, stepping aside and resigning, are these not two different emtities?. Again, where on earth have you seen someone who is resigning using “öfficial letter head”? Maybe judicial language. Something is not adding up here. Lets open up our eyes gentlemen/women. Bodza ndi fake professor ili. She will be working behind the curtains uyu, believe you me. If you examine careful her letter on MEC letter head is… Read more »

#NotMyPresident
#NotMyPresident
4 years ago
Reply to  Donda wa Donda

She does not need permission to resign, all she benefactor rewrite the letter and say “I have resigned effective today.” When I resigned my job I needn’t need someone to approve or disapprove of it. All Mutharika has to do is say, “thank you”. Life goes on.

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