Ex-speaker says Malawi election case is watershed 

Former Speaker of Parliament Davies Katsonga has backed opposition leaders for taking President Peter Mutharika and the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) to court over the outcome of the May 21 presidential poll results, describing the case as watershed.

Taking to social media, Katsonga, who disbanded his Fuko party to rejoin the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), said Malawians have a constitutional right to challenge any anomalies they pick in the voting process.

“As true son of Malawi, I look at this case as a watershed in the way Malawi votes; it does look like there are grave systematic issues in the voting processes,” says Katsonga.

He said rigging elections is a very serious constitutional matter which steals from the people the choices they have made at the ballot box.

“Their vote becomes useless. The riggers illegitimately become the leaders against the wishes of the governed,” he says.

Adds Katsonga: “As I write, the court has not yet ruled on the case. Nevertheless, in my opinion, all fair minded democratic Malawians should not look at this case through party-colour-tinted goggled but rather through colourless patriot’s glasses.”

Katsonga says if the outcome of the case reveals that the DPP and MEC influenced the outcome of the presidential poll results, then Malawians should be prepared to protect the democracy, saying “even if it means laying down our lives for our nascent democracy and mother Malawi.”

In the case, Malawi Congress Party (MCP) presidential hopeful Lazarus Chakwera alongside first petitioner and UTM Party president Saulos Chilima are seeking nullification of presidential election results in the May 21 Tripartite Elections over alleged irregularities in the results management system. The petitioners are also seeking an order for a rerun.

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