Five Judges to hear DPP 2020 election nullification constitutional matter unveiled
One day after the Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda certified as a constitutional matter the case where the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is seeking the nullification of June 23, 2020 fresh presidential election, five Judges have been unveiled to hear the matter.
Chief Justice Nyirenda referred the case file to Judge President Sylvester Kalembera on Monday, August 23, 2021 to empanel the Constitutional Court, which the former did that on Tuesday, August 24. 2021, the Registrar of Supreme Court of Appeal and High Court, Gladys Gondwe informed Nyasa Times in an interview on Tuesday.
According to Gondwe, Justices Kalembera (Judge-in-Charge), Rowland Mvundula, Dorothy NyaKaunda Kamanga, Annabel Mtalimanja, and Thom Ligowe will hear the matter. They are expected to meet next Monday, August 30, 2021 to discuss how they would proceed.
The DPP is asking the court to quash the results of the said fresh presidential poll after it emerged that four Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) commissioners were illegally appointed by the former President, Mutharika despite having managed and certified the election and its results.
On June 2, 2020, Justice Kenyatta Nyirenda ruled that former commissioners Linda Kunje, Jean Mathanga, Arthur Nanthuru and Steve Duwa were illegally appointed by former Republican President and DPP leader Peter Mutharika and as such he invalidated their appointment.
The ruling Malawi Congress Party (MCP), through its Secretary General Eisnhower Nduwa Mkaka, sued the ‘Presidency’ for ‘wrongly’ appointing the commissioners and prayed for their immediate removal.
Following Justice Kenyatta’s ruling, the DPP approached the courts to nullify the election of President Chakwera, arguing that if the commissioners’ appointment was irregular and illegal then there was no commission when the fresh presidential election was held.
The DPP argues that the same follows for all the subsequent parliamentary and ward council by-elections that were managed by the said former MEC commissioners.
The DPP is seeking “consequential orders and directions that the status of the presidency of the Republic of Malawi reverts to the position it was prior to the appointment of the inquorate and unconstitutional seventh cohort of the Malawi Electoral Commission”, basing their application on Section 75 of the Constitution, which talks about the composition of the electoral commission.
The matter initially came before Justice Dingiswayo Madise of the High Court who upon hearing DPP arguments, referred the matter to the Chief Justice for certification as a constitutional matter and empanelling of the Constitutional Court “because the DPP raised serious constitutional issues”.
When you have got power hungry people in your party this what exactly is happening.That shows really the DPP are power hungry people.Its him APM who did this deliberately by appointing those commissioners because he thought is above the law and the whole DPP agreed.Surprisingly,the same DPP are taking the matter to court kkkkkk.Don’t take Malawians for a ride.You lost and just focus on the future elections.You are really showing that you have a bitterness on the Tonse Government.
You are daft. School sinakuthandizeni.
All this is because of Chakwera for not listening to his AG Silungwe. He advised him just to give them their appointments letters but he gave a deaf ear to this advice akumana nazo yekha because the ruling which went like “illegal and irregular” thats what will cost him. Chikosa Silungwe adawona kale izi nchifukwa chake amumuteteza bwanayu kuti angayambe kuluza mpando poyerayera bcoz frankly speaking ine chabwino do not know much anout malamulo and its interpretation but looking at the argument DPP is making does give sense bcoz how can one say the commissioners were illegally appointed and yet… Read more »
What this matter is not addressing is whether the appointment of the said MEC commissioners was irregullar or not
The fact is that, the four MEC commissioners were legal when they certified the general elections which Tonse alliance won under its leader president Chakwera, but at the same time Justice K Nyerenda had also ruled that the four Mec commissioners were illegally appointed by the former president Peter Muntarika. So it seems that the four Mec commissioners who certified the elections by then, were illegal, and Mec were not supposed to conduct any elections The issue is, how did the four illegal or incompetent Mec commissioners, certify the winning of Tonse alliance and then became illegal commissioners after the… Read more »
I wonder if complaints of this case actee on merit. It is time a former ruling party which lost elections terribly speedup processes of replacing and building successor leaders to avoid derailing rebuilding opportunity. The leadership blackout is costing former ruling party a lot. Which court on earth can promote abuses of the law. Logically it is contradictory premise to think that the law should allow its breakers to abuse it at will. This case should provide an opportunity to arrest leadership that destroyed our constitutionality for personal benefit and not for benefit of Malawians. Democracy means power rest in… Read more »
We waiting for it
Tikhalira zomwezi amalawife amzathu akutukuka
Hede! ulu! kkkkkkk zilipo chakachino.
Last time ataziyamba izi achina Chilima tinkayesa zamasewela koma masewela omwewo analowanawo m’boma. Izinso ena akuziyesa zamasewela. Hahaha sweet politics 😂
The Dream is free
Those of us who like commenting, this is a pertinent issue to comment on
The tables have turned down, mukayesa masewera, muziona