Analyst says Malawi not ideal to host elections conference

A political analyst has faulted the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) for accepting to host a conference for pollsters in the Sadc region when the MEC own handling of recent polls is under contention.

George Phiri says MEC’s image is dented with serious allegations of vote manipulation in the May 21 presidential election in favour of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate president Peter Mutharika.

Mutharika, MEC and the DPP dispute this but the opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and UTM are challenging the poll results in court.

“How can MEC host such a conference when its own election is challenged? Malawi is not the right country to host such a conference this time,” said Phiri.

Malawi is to host annual general conference for the Electoral Commissions for Sadc amidst a highly charged political atmosphere in the country.

According to a press statement from the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) signed by its embattled chairperson Jane Ansah, the conference takes place from September 22 to 27, 2019.

This will be the first time for Ansah to appear in public since the opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and UTM dragged MEC to court over the highly disputed May 21 presidential elections.

She will also appear in public for the first time since the onset of the Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) sanctioned anti-Jane Ansah protests.

“Alongside the conference, the ECF Sadc will also host a one-day international seminar on enhancing the credibility of elections through observation,” says Ansah in the statement.

The ECF Sadc is a network of electoral management bodies from 16 countries and Malawi currently holds the presidency for the forum, according to Ansah.