Court orders MEC to prove how it resolved ‘Madando 147’: Request on bank accounts, to dismiss Malawi poll commissioners rejected
A five-judge panel of the High Court sitting as a Constitutional Court in Lilongwe have granted from two of the presidential candidates in the May 21 Tripartite Elections who are challenging results of the elections their request that Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC).
In the case, MEC is the second respondent while President Peter Mutharika is the first respondent to a joint petition from two presidential candidates, first petitioner Saulos Chilima of UTM Party and the second petitioner Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi Congress Party(MCP).
Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda certified the case as a constitutional matter and appointed the five-judge panel to hear the case.
In their ruling on preliminary applications Thursday, the five-judge panel which comprises Healey Potani, Mike Tembo, Dingiswayo Madise, Ivy Kamanga and Redson Kapindu, the court also ordered the electoral body headed by embattled Jane Mjojo Ansah to provide documents on audited election results to the court within 11 days.
The court also granted the wish of the petitioners that ballots and polling materials that would form part of evidence in court safety be kept by the Clerk of Parliament under conditions of strict security.
The judges said the electoral material be deposited with the Clerk of Parliament within 11 days from Thursday.
Chilima , the country’s immediate past vice president and Chakwera were also granted their wish by the court to access to MEC server and that bid documents for the recruitment of election auditors and the names of the auditors should be disclosed.
However, the court dismisses the two presidential hopefuls on their request for MEC to release bank details of its data entry clerks.
Mordecai Msiska, the lead legal counsel for Chakwera, said they want to examine bank accounts of the country’s electoral staff to track possible bribe.
“We need to know whether any MEC staff had had transactions in their accounts that are unusual, that could not be explained in terms of inflows of funds”, he said.
But the court observed that allowing MEC access to the staff’s bank accounts would be an infringement of their right o privacy.
The court also dimissed the request by the petitioners to dismiss MEC Commissioners in the event that the Constitutional Court finds reasonable grouns to order fresh elections for the presidential seat.
Both Chilima and Chakwera are challenging results of the presidential election, claiming that they were rigged in favour of Mutharika who was declared winner with 38 percent.
Results MEC announced show that Chakwera trailed Mutharika with 35 percent while Chilima finished third with 20 percent of the votes.
Hearing of the full matter resumes on July 29.
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The MCP is not planning anything good for this country.. I heard there was a secret meeting at MCP headqaurter to unleash terror and violent acts. They say Chilima should fight for them as pay back for the stolen ballot in 2014.
Eleven days is too for for these thieves to do what they know best it would have been may three days
Maybe we need more pit latrines and less tippex. Open defecation and use of tippex is affecting our medulla oblongata.
MCP should NOT bank all its hopes on the court case: DPP is a mafia. MCP should continue gathering its own evidence about how DPP stole this election. Its intelligence arm (whatever it is called) should work tirelessly to get to the bottom of what exactly happened. For example why do we not know the person who supplied the Tippex throughout the country – a whole month after the elections? Who was bribing Returning Officers to doctor results? etc
Where this case is going protesters should brace themselves for more demos. MCP-UTM have changed their petition from re-count to re-run. Opposition lawyers’ documents are wishy-washy and all over the place, hence, judges have demanded sanitisation of these documents. Judges have also refused to grant the opposition its prayer to have MEC Commissioners dismissed. Furthermore, judges have rejected the opposition’s plea to have bank accounts of MEC staff scrutinised. MEC has been asked to explain how it dealt with 147 madando (well, that’s the issue Dr Ansah eloquently spoke about during her Zodiak interview. Komatu bola osamwa tameki.
Are you giving final case judgement? This is being insensitive beyond the word MARY!! If the courts through, not one, not two but “FIVE” judges have allowed the complainants to change whatever they want, who are you to start openly mocking the parties? How big is your party in comparison with the two parties, in terms of numbers? Can you stand it if they advance to you as they did to Alfred Chanza! Do you deny the fact that many monitors of these parties were denied final copies that the constituency returning officers produced from the mentioned ten districts? Please… Read more »
That’s what joji wina thinks and we respect his views. But why use Tipex if the figures for each monitor were the same? Did each monitor endorse the tipexed document?
joji wina yu thinking capacity is very low, yu dont what yu are talking and its baseless even akid knows that the elections were rigged
The truth will be known. No viphuphu
The elections were credible and this is exactly what the court will determine. We voted and our votes decided who should be the president..Tippex argument is childish and can only be used to challenge the results by people who do not have any tangible evidence against the results. Nzomvetsa chisoni kuti anthu ambiri alibe nzeru ndi kuzindikira kuti ma results a tippex angakhale olakwika pokhapokha ngati the figures were different from those on the forms of party monitors of which no parties disputed. For this reason it is evident that the opposition have very weak case nanjinso kukana kwa khoti… Read more »
Opanda zeru ndiwe because we are starving because few stupid malawi who clap hand to thieve
gwirani ntchito. Even if your party wins, you will still starve chifukwa ndiwe mlesi.
Munakakhala ena munakangokhala chete. Tiyeni tidikire mmene a khoti agamulire mulanduwu. Aboma polimbikira kuti mulandu augwetse nchifukwa amadziwa kuti pali umboni waukulu osonyeza kuti chitsankho chinabedwa. Ndipo sizinhatheke a opposition kuluza mulandu umenewu. APM akudziwanso
Ulibe nzeru ndi iweyo. if the elections were credible, why is MEC appealing to Supreme court to block the case? why is MEC objecting to almost everything that UTM and MCP are requesting e.g. access to servers etc? Is it not the opportunity to show the nation and world what a “wonderful” job MEC did? No wonder the court ha granted most of the pleas.
Mcp always goes to court after election since Kamuzu left de party
What is tippex? Who produces that stuff? Local or foreign? Can I use it to repair my broken pit latrine? Is it effective?
Joji, you are an idiot of note, please do not comment on these issues
Sounds like crocodile tears of a DPP cadet who corruptly feeds on our taxes
Nonse amemne mwatukwana apa ndinu zitsiru. Chitsiru kuchikonola muntondo chikhalabe chitsiru
I dont know which school you went Joji Wina?. I can just sense ignorance on part your arguments. Just busy making sweeping statements. Just because you voted foe DPP, then it follows that whatever other parties are claiming are nosense. Malawians we look very intelligent but very stupid in reasoning!
if party monitors have results that are the same as those announced by make why should MCP and UTM go to court? By the way, why should official results have tippex and those party monitors not have.?
Yes we want to know as a nation what was behind tippex by Jane Mjojo Ansa. The Concourt will make this country great again. We are praying for the judges day and night for wisdom from God only devil is a liar.