Chilima’s lawyer highlights how irregularities affected millions of votes in Malawi polls
UTM Party president Dr Saulos Klaus Chilima, the first petitioner in the presidential election nullification petition case, through his lead attorney Dr Chikosa Silungwe on Thursday oultined before the Constitutional Court that irregularities that occured during the May 21 presidential polls directly affected millions of valid votes, thus affecting the result of the election.
Sulungwe was responding to Attorney General’s submission that petitioners were “shouting” irregularities without proving how they affected the result of the election as required by law.
However, Silungwe gave the court a breakdown of the irregularities proved by the petitioners and the votes affected.
He said for instance 1,122 form 66cs were altered manuualy affecting 1,330486 valid votes, representing 26 percent of the votes.
Silungwe also demostrated before the court that 1527 duplicate result tally sheets were used affecting 1,593,334 valid votes, representing 31 percent of the votes.
He further demostrated that 172 fake result tally sheets were used affecting 188,172 votes, thus represntating 4 perecent of the votes.
Again, 442 tippexed form 66Cs were used affecting 524,340 votes which is 11 percent of the votes.
Lastly, Silungwe showed the court that 1,182 result tally sheets not signed by presiding officers or assistant presiding officers were used, representing 21 percent of valid votes.
“We are a country of laws and those who we elect into political public offices must do so under strict compliance with the constitution…” said Silungwe, adding “ May elections fails in a number of respect to satisfy the constitutional duty.”
Silungwe submitted to court that Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) did not deliver a presidential election in accordance to the Constitution
“Further we must be less than impressed by what I have called by emotional blackmail that we have been exposed to by our colleques, surely the central theory of this case, cannot be that we had monitors at polling stations therefore election results cannot be faulted.
“Monitors were not the commission, they were not public servants, what the people of Malawi are asking is what exactly happened on polling day.”
He said told the court that petitioners have successfully proved before the court various irregularities that occured during the May 21, 2019 polls in breach of the Constitution, the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections Act and other laws and prayed to the court to nully the elections and order that fresh elections be held.
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National Election Results are like cheques which once altered they are not accepted or cashed. That’s how election results sheets should be treated. NO CORRECTION PLEASE! NO TIPPEX PLEASE! These are sensitive documents & should be treated thus!
We have seen everything and Peter Mutharika is not a real man he is fake man and thief that why we call Mr Tippiex.
Did he present the same in court? I mean the numbers?
Kumeneku kunali kulira kwa akuchikazi , tsopano nthawi ino tiipereke aku chipani kuti alengeze zomwe atolera atazungulira m’makomo .
Koma kumeneko, mkoke mkoke anthu akuba awa awonekela poyela ndie iwe uziti DPP ndiyabwino
Why use shortcuts like tippex and fake documents when you have a clear policy not to use them?
If you say it didn’t affect the results, then why did you have to use fake documents and tippex?
MEC administration is poor. Actually, the administration of many institutions in Malawi is poor. Kugona pantchito