MEC postpones Mangochi and Phalombe by-elections: 50+1 to be used in electing Malawi MPs
Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC)has postponed the parliamentary by-elections in Mangochi West Constituency; Mangochi North East Constituency; and Phalombe North Constituency which were scheduled to take place on November 10 following High Court order that MEC should conduct them using same older voters’ roll and maintain the candidates that competed in the annulled elections of May 21 2019.
The court order followed an injunction an independent candidate for Mangochi North-East, Martin Nyengo obtained, restraining MEC from conducting new registration and also allowing new candidates to contest.
High Court Judge, Joseph Chigona ruled in favour of Nyengo, saying MEC needs to apply the same formula it used during the Fresh Presidential Elections (FPE) when conducting the by-elections.
MEC chairperson Chifundo Kachale said on Monday tin a statement that following the judgment of the High Court, the procedure for holding elections in: Mangochi West Constituency; Mangochi North East Constituency; and Phalombe North Constituency – all after court nullification of the May 21 2019 election results – only the candidates who participated in the 2019 parliamentary elections will be considered eligible to contest in the elections and their status and party affiliations will be maintained.
Kachale said the voters’ register will be reset to the state it was on 21st May 2019.
“In view of the foregoing, the elections in Mangochi West Constituency; Mangochi North East Constituency; and Phalombe North Constituency have been deferred to allow time for implementation of the above processes. New dates for receipt of nominations and the three by-elections will be set and announced in due course,” said Kachale.
MEC chairperson Kachale, who is also a High Court judge, has also disclosed that MEC has considered the provisions of section 96 (5) of the Parliamentary and Presidential Elections Act and section 80 (5) of the Local Government Elections Act and the interpretation of the word “majority” by both the Constitutional Court and Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal in Elections Petition case and informs all candidates, political parties and relevant electoral stakeholders that the threshold for determination of a winner for both the parliamentary and local government elections will be set at “50% plus 1 vote of the votes cast.”
Kachale said any candidate or political party aggrieved by these decisions may appeal to the High Court of Malawi.
Meanwhile, the by-elections will proceed on November 10 for Lilongwe North West f which ell vacant on May 8 2020 following the resignation of President Lazarus Chakwera prior to June 23 Fresh Presidential Election and Karonga Central fell vacant on July 16 2020 following the death of Malawi Congress party (MCP) legislator Cornelius Mwalwanda.
It would be chaotic to administer 50+1 in regard to parliamentary and local council elections. common sense must be seen to prevail here.
Confusion happening here. Something is not right here.
I like this. Malawi is on course of becoming a two party state just like USA. MCP for central region and DPP for southern region.
This is the end of UTM or the breakup of Tonse Alliance because in subsequent by elections Tonse Alliance will be forced to feature one candidate.
I now remember why APM said the constitutional court judgement was a fatal blow to our hard won democracy koma ena ankaseka. Lero ndi izi zaoneka kuti Abusa amatinamiza and Mr Handsome akubisa nkhope pamene democracy yathu is in danger!
What it means is there will be no MPs for any constituency as no one will garner 50%+1. Unless the MPs form a tonse alliance . You will soon have a vice MP.kkkkkkkk.
Kkkkkkk mukamva nyekhwe ndi imeneyo muziwona you thought mumakhawulitsa dpp its now you! moti yatsala ndi access to information bill ikhalanso wazawaza bcoz we want everything at our disposal nyekhwelization at its best
Come 2025, we shall have tripartite elections rerun. I can’t see candidate, presidential/parliamentary/councillor, winning 50.1 in first attempt. Very expensive and time wasting reruns. Maybe that’s when some thick heads will realise that even the judges are motivated by corruption. Also by spreading the reruns a cross many poling days, means kachale and his MEC staff will pocket more allowances accross many polling days.
If 50+1 is the order, then the crop of MPs we have today are all illegitimate. We do not have any MP in Malawi as far as the 2019 elections were concerned. The whole 2019 general election was null and void.
Koma Hon Kachale pena pake akutinamiza sure. 50%+1 is for the presidential election only whereas for the MPs (nullified seats) all what MEC is supposed to do is to maintain the voters roll (used in 2019) and allow only those who participated in the 2019 MP elections to participate in this election. Zikuvuta pati kumvetsa zimenezi?
Seems ridiculous that MEC would have implement similar rules that were in place before the High Court and Supreme Court Ruled the Constituional Presidential Election. Not what was ordered by the Supreme Court and High Courts who ruled on the contested Constituency’s ordered a re-run on those MP’s. Such a waste of resources and money. Do question the 50% +1 for a Constituency run-off when the MP is not running nationally.