Goodall insists no money on elections re-run
Finance minister Goodall Gondwe is refusing to bow down to increasing pressure to fund the Lilonngwe south east constituency, saying there is literally no money at present.
In an interview on Thursday, Gondwe said the rerun had not been factored in in the budget.
“May be we will have to look for it now but we don’t have the money,” said Gondwe as the opposition and civil rights groups are piling pressure on government to obey the Supreme Court order.
The court ordered the rerun after massive rigging and irregularities in the 2014 parliamentary election which saw the ruling Democratic Progressive Party sponsored candidate Bentry Namasasu defeating Ulemu Msungama of the Malawi Congress Party.
Unandi Banda, executive director of National Elections Systems Trust said the government has no multiple choice on the matter but obey the court order.
Banda also said the court ruling is a tip on the iceberg on how chaotic the 2014 general election were.
“This shows that even the presidential election had some problems,” he said.
State spies, the National Intelligence Bureau officers were spotted at Malawi Electoral Commission warehouse in Lilongwe just before a fire that gutted the warehouse soon after the High Court ruling to recount the votes in Lilongwe south east constituency.
MEC top officials have since asked for people’s patience and understanding as the pollster is making arrangements to have the rerun.
If the rerun was in to be conducted in Thyolo, would you say there is no money? people should stay without MP for two years???! Thats unfair… I will rule Gambia for billion years…
Amalawi please next coming elections please vote for the fresh blood nkhalambazi zikuba kwambiri they dont dame think for the for the futureof the young generation . zinkhope zawozi zonyasazi ndi mitima yawo yomwe, please lets serve the nation, i dont like politics but i support Chilima for the next coming elections coz he is still fresh.
Using tax payers money for election is wiser decision than pretending there is no money while giving the Chaponda’s to plunder it in silence. Ndalama zituluke basi. Low salaries, poor health services, low quality education, rampant poverty, malnutrition, where is my tax heaped? Who does it caress daily? It has become a trend kuti zimatuluka in times like this, zituluke. Chisankho Mawa. On the other hand, chisankho chichichitike mwachangu just to let Malawians and next governments appreciate the consequences of negligence, selfishness and greed. This will serve as a lesson which will, in future, arrest and malnourish costly impulsive decision… Read more »
mungomva dzinalo.. Namasasu, lomwe, mbava. amdala komatu
Walira mvula walira matope.Democracy is ecpensive.It needs money and educated people to understand.Mukuliranji lero mudana kamuzu wa one party system. Tiyenayoni Democracy ndi omeneyoyo.Ndiye mukati ndalama mulibe mukuthauza kuti basi Democracy mwaitaya..Basi mungopanga zomwwzo zokongolazo.
You poor commentators, be able to differentiate the circumstances that lead to a bye-election and a re-run. The former comes where there was a conclusive election and the winner is incapacitated I.e death occurs along the way while a re-run is done when there was no clear winner . You people need to know that the court deliberately crafted the word ”re-run” to balance the act. It’s either Namasasu is the winner or Msungama’s evidence was inadequate to declare him winner in the court action. In a nutshell, the court declared the contestants were neck to neck in the number… Read more »
The only way forward is to put Ulemu Msungama on the MP payroll, pay him in arreas and struck out the the thief Namasu and force him to pay back all the money paid to him both in salary and allowances during the time Parliament has been sitting since 2014. If nothing happens, Msungama should move the court for contemptt so Goodall goes to jail. No one is above the law in a democracy – Goodall must comply with the court’s ruling whether there is money or not or not, nkhanga zaona. You are going to lose two MPs ina… Read more »
Elections are conducted by MEC, not Gondwe, the court instructed MEC to do the RE- run . So how is Gondwe in contempt?
Malawi has a lot of fools who think only with their black hearts.
Why should there be a by-election when the government has no money??? Government should priotise useful sectors like health, education etc and not cheap political activities. The seat will be filled in 2019.
Failing to pay teachers in time is deliberate move my friend,government has alot of money,koma kuba too much,amakhala kuti aba kale apangira business waiting for profits kuti abwezerepo..infact ndalama za re-run alinazo koma nkhalambazi zikufna zipeze kaye pot zisololepo kaye..ukuona ngati zingatulutse ndalama za elections osasololapo???? Malawi wake siwaleroyu bro..corruption is everywhere kapena kuti akuba paliponse,ngati amakwanitsa kuba chimanga (staple food) cha anthu osaukafe,kuba ndalama za mankhwala ( ku CDC) ndye kulibwanji za chisankho??? Yes! Indeed,Malawi is a land of thieves.dziko lovetsa chisoni,mmmmh.
Masuku agwa usiku mdima walanga nyani