Defiant MEC launches by-elections in Lilongwe, Kasungu
Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) is launching by-elections in Lilongwe and Kasungu on Sunday despite calls from certain quarters of society to halt it.
MEC officials are launching the by-elections for Lilongwe south constituency at Malingunde TDC and Matenje ward in Kasungu north west at Chulu TDC.
Political parties, aspiring candidates, civil society organisations, members of the faith community and traditional leaders are among those attending the launch of the by-elections.
MEC chief elections officer Sam Alufandika said during the launch, commissioners froth pollsters are presenting the electoral calendar that will outline the timelines for activities to be implemented in the run up to the by-elections.
“Stakeholders will also be given an opportunity to ask questions and seek clarifications on issues regarding the conduct of the by-elections,” said Alufandika.
This comes at a time when opposition parties and other independent political stakeholders have asked MEC to suspend the holding of the by-elections in view of the credibility loss among the commissioners, including the MEC chair Jane Ansah following the highly contested May 21 elections.
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This is Ansahs defiance attitude. We need to stop this so that she can listen to what malawians are saying. It can’t be business as usual.
Voters should agree to shun the exercise, Adzavote okha a MEC
In Kenya, after the 2017 election, Odinga lodged a court case against Uhuru and the IEBC (their electoral body). He successfully won his case and the election results were nullified, Uhuru however was cleared of rigging.
As they went for rerun, Odinga refused to take part and galvanised his voters not to take part because some of his demands were not met. Among others, he demanded the resignation of Chiloba and Chebukati (Elections Chair), a thing that did not happen.
Interestingly, only Uhuru supporters went to vote in the rerun and I thought it wouldn’t count. It did. Make the mistake of staying away, you may be in for a big shock. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!