High Court puts MCP district elections on hold
Mphatso Nkhoma – Nyasa Times
The Lilongwe High Court has granted an interparty injunction to 27 Malawi Congress Party (MCP) district chairmen stopping the party from holding district elections or removing any office bearer.
MCP district chairpersons through their lawyer Wesley Namasala rushed to court to obtain an injunction barring the party’s executive from holding the district elections scheduled for this coming Sunday.
Namasala, who is representing the disgruntled chairmen, told the court that the party should not hold the elections from this weekend until the other case which is before the same court challenging the legality of appointed National Executive Committee (NEC) members by President Dr Lazarus Chakwera is completed.
But lawyers representing the party, Chifundo Sikwese and Louis Peter Chakwantha argued that the party’s constitution is very clear that it gives mandate to for the party to call for the elections after every three years and it was only following its constitution.
In his ruling, judge Dr Chifundo Kachale agreed with the applicants that the legality of the current NEC members is pending the ruling on the case the chairmen are challenging in court and that it is right to stop the elections until the other case is heard on 6th June, 2016.
Kachale ordered MCP not to hold district elections “until determination of the main action or until further action of the court.”
The elections were set to begin in the central region and lakeshore districts this coming weekend and extend to the other regions.
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