Ansah back use of Tippex in Malawi polls: MEC chair defiant of ‘Ansxit’
Embattled Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Jane Ansah has said she is aware that people are baying for her blood to exit the electoral body – ‘Ansxit’ – for compromising herself and mismanaging the May 21 Tripartite Elections but has backed the widespread use of the correctional fluid, Tippex, saying no law was broken.
Ansah has said this in her appearance before the Constitutional Court sanctioned Parliament’s Public Appointments Committee (PAC) inquiry to assess the competence of the electoral body.
Her appearance before the committee comes against a background of calls by Human Rights Defenders Commission (HRDC), through a series of nationwide demonstrations that at times turned ugly, for her to resign for allegedly presiding over a flawed electoral process last year.
“The electoral laws were not breached because of the use of Tippex, they were actually upheld because the correct figure was capture,” Ansah said after she entered the inquiry room in a completely tone deaf perfomance, posing for photos in style.
She said in the past, when there were no computers, corrections were made manually and were accepted.
Ansah was quashing a Constitutional Court ruling which said that the irregularities and anomalies had been so widespread, systematic and grave that the integrity of the results had been seriously compromised.
The MEC chairperson also told the parliamentary committee that she allowed a Malawi Congress Party (MCP) election team to see her with their concerns before the results were announced.
She said the team was led by the party secretary general Eisenhower Mkaka and other people included Dowa west MP Richard Chimwendo Banda and lawyer Ayuba James.
“Ayuba even threatened me that if we went ahead to announce the results, there would be blood in the country,” claimed Ansah.
She also said Chimwendo Banda repeated the same threats but they both later apologized and withdrew the threats.
MEC chairwomanalso denied allegations by the election auditors that MEC announced the poll results when only one-third of the result sheets were processed.
Ansah, a judge of the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal,looked calm, composed and recollected in answering the question from the members of committee which want to find out if MEC is competent to hold fresh election in five months time.
The inquiry follows a February 3 2020 order of a five-judge panel of the High Court of Malawi sitting as the Constitutional Court that nullified the May 21 2019 presidential election over irregularities and mandated Parliament to assess the commissioners’ competences.
On Tuesday, commissioners Yahaya M’madi, Moffat Banda, Linda Kunje and Jean Mathanga appeared before the committee at Parliament Building in Lilongwe. They followed in the footsteps of Mary Nkosi and Elvey Mtafu on Monday.
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tiyeni tikhale ana oopa mulungu tisakhale ngati ana a satana tiyenitichotse ziwanda zonse za pansi panyanja tikatero sitdzafunirana zoipa tikhale ndi zipatso za mzimu woyera god bless malawi god bless our president prof. arthur peter mutharika
The good thing she has appealed so I am sure the Supreme Court will do the needful. Sentencing time. The guilty are known. It is time to sentence. You can’t blow 40 billion of tax payers money and get away with it.
inu mai uyu ndi mwana wa satana ndithu
I think she is intelligent. The PAC is investigating to determine the competency of MEC. But the comments on this forum imply that some people wanted this process to be a rubber stamp for the preconceived outcome. 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
PAC is following regulations and rules unlike MEC! We all know the competency level not even one selfish asshole there deserve to be a commissioner that position need brave people to stand up against fraud etc!! And I dont see PAC saving anyone they can’t even uphold the law what kind of public servants! Give them a tippex cheque to cash and one for you maybe only then you’ll learn a thing or two. Gullible!!
This lady said the election case is not appealable and that she will only resign only if Court finds her guilty. Since she earlier said the case is not appealable, then she meant will resign if the concourt find guilty of which she was found guilty. Remember folks that there was an issue of a flopped alleged bribery attempt on constituional court judges that was said a Supreme Court judge was involved. I think her saying that she will resign if concourt finds her guilty, she thought that the judges bribery case will be successful. Now that concourt judges refused… Read more »
Not appealable was about lifting of the injuction stopping announcement results. She clarified today saying lifting an injuction is a ‘judicial review’ procedure hence cannot be appealed. Abale mayi uyu anthu ambiri sananvetse out of ignorance. We judged her too quick. Madam Jane Ansah, we are sorry for our ingnorance kikikikikiki
Ukati “we are sorry” who are you including? Cadet iwe!! She said she would resign if court finds her to have done not according to the law. She HOPED that her fellow judges would “rescue her” but mmmh. She should resign now!.
J.A. is no ordinary woman. Sali ngati azimayi tinazolowera kuwatolawa. She comes in a very rare package
But who supplied tippex from Nsanje to Chitipa?
It was not just 1or 2 bottles, but lots if not thousands.
This tippex did not fall as manner from heaven. Who brought it to the centres.
How come till today this puzzle is not solved.
malume,ma prisiding officers anali ma headmaster ndi aphuzitsi.Tipex amapaka ndi anthu amenewa ndipo amatenga waku ma office kwao .Am talking with experience because i was at one of the tally centres as one of the stakeholders.
Mukanaona momwe ma headmaster anavutlikila nacho chi form chimenechija kuti ma figures apange reconcile mukanava chisoni.anthu timadabwa kuti koma anthuwa ndi aphuzitsidi zoona?
ndipo pano ndimadabwa kuti ma Headmaster nd aphuzisti amenewa amakhala pheee pa nkhani imeneyi ngat sakudziwapo kanthu.
…so if MEC did not supply TIPEX, MEC was supposed to send back any tippexed sheet. The electoral laws are CLEAR on how errors were to be corrected, not TIPPEX!
Amangoyenera kuvutika basi. U use ghost figures nde chisavute ku balancer?
The chairman is so stupid and very biased. Why not allow her to explain?
This lady is being driven and used by devil and she knows that. She will not give up until blood is spilt in Malawi. God’s creation gave a woman a soft heart who feels bad when people are suffering. But not her. She already pocketed a lot of money for putting Muthalika on the presidency. If she resigned today, that money will still belong to her, but she is still defiant. What is she looking for?
Ingomwani poison mufe kuti muyiwale mavuto anu
She wants a good dick. So, she is getting even with Malawian men. You are starving her with a dick.
Mary Nkosi MCP and Evelyn Mtafu UDF, these are empty headed idiots. They have shown their stupidity during the time PAC was questioning them. If indeed it was approved by them that MEC was messing up the election and they were made to sign for a messed up election, the best thing they could do was to resign and say it public on the reasons why they have resigned. These idiots should know that Malawians cannot take them serious on what they are speaking today. A genuine democrat will resign and speak the truth even without being questioned. This shows… Read more »
Unfortunately, what they said is more believable to many, so which Malawians are you referring to. By the way, there are many in DPP who believe that MEC did not do a good job but they have not resigned. So don’t come here to stand on a higher moral ground.