Court allows Malawi Electoral Commission 5 days extension, poll case timeline affected
The High Court sitting as a Constitutional Court in Lilongwe on Thursday allowed the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) application seeking extension to file sworn affidavits in the presidential election nullification petition case on grounds that petitioners interfered with its exercise.
The court refused the 14-day extension but granted an extension of five days to collect information from its presiding officers.
Reading the ruling, Justice Dingiswayo Madise, said considering that electoral bodybuilding lawyers were disrupted when collecting the information it would be proper to give them the additional five days including weekends.
The electoral body had also asked the five-judge Constitutional Court panel for an order barring the petitioners or their agents from interfering with the recording of sworn statements of witnesses.
In their determination, the judges allowed the extension which would affect the commencement date of the case.
The court has also ordered Malawi Congress Party (MCP) President Lazarus Chakwera, to publicly condemn a statement made by the party’s publicity secretary, Maurice Munthali, calling on Mec presiding officers not to grant Mec the required information.
The court says Chakwera must do so within 24 hours.
The Constitutional Court had earlier set July 29 set to start hearing a petition filed by UTM Party president SaulosChilima and Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president Lazarus Chakwera seeking nullification of the presidential election results over alleged irregularities, especially in the result management system.
President Peter Mutharika, by virtue of being the declared winner, is the first respondent while MEC is the second respondent.
With the extension, the case is likely going to delay.
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THOUGH THEY HAVE GIVEN SOMETIME TO COLLECT EVIDENCE SIZIPHULA KANTHU THOSE GUYS MCP AND UTM THEY HAVE GATHERED MORE EVIDENCE THAN TIPEX WITNESS
Let me warn Phade that he is completely ignorant in as far as courts run. You can not refer Muluzi, Chaponda, Chamthunya etc no no no then ndiwe mbuli. This is Constitution court sitting in High Court. This is biggest court on the land every country in the world because it is the only court that interprets about the constitution of the land. It is not criminal procedure here but Constitution. So this court does not take more than 24 days to complete no. Within 24 days judgment will pass and this is straight matter as overwhelming evidence are there… Read more »
Dr Chakwera do that, so they know that our battle is not against the court but against thieves.
MEC announced the winner Mutharika, meaning they had all the evidence, now what are they collecting? please this thing “jane ansah” must indeed fall. This is a true and clear reflection that the May 21 results were rigged.
These are merely legal procedures! To prove their case they need witnesses.
zayambika. a Malawi mlandu uwu sutheka. a opposition saphulapo kanthu. ena mukumati ku Kenya zinathekapo, it was just the other way round. Boma silingaluze ndipo musasusuke ndi zongomva. za mmaluwa. Kodi mlandu wa a Muluzi, munthu osadziwa malamulo watha zaka zingati, nanga wa Chaponda mmene unatenthera muja ulipati pano, Chanthunya ndi ena ndi ena. now this is government. it owns all institutions including you people. it is not as democratic as you think ndie mukuona ngati angaluze. mufera za ziii.
MUZIKHALABE CHONCHO ANZANU ATSUNGULA MU NZERU!
chi khadeti kudzilimbitsa mtima, munyela muwona pamodzi ndi magogo anuwo simunati!!!!
musatikwanetu mwanva
Even atawapatsa 100days tippex won’t change on the ballot papers.
Tippex will remain tippex no matter what, so fraudulent result will remain fraudulent no matter how you can cook up the fugures.
No matter how you can bribe the presiding officers but truth will prevail at the end of the day.
Am in the stand watching carefully who is going to miss the penalty but obviously it’s Madala Team with Tippex.
Tippex did not vote Mr Pains