HRCC calls for new MEC, fresh Malawi Tripartite Elections

Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC) has asked President Peter Mutharika to consider firing Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Jane Ansah together with her Commissioners and call for fresh tripartite elections within 150 days as stipulated by the Constitutional Court (ConCourt).

HRCC is a network of 97 civil society organizations (CSOs) comprising local civil society organizations with interest in the areas of protection of people’s rights, promotion of the human rights agenda, and safeguarding good governance and the rule of law,

HRCC chairperson Robert Mkwezalamba said on Monday that the solution to the prevailing political and constitutional crisis lies in the dissolution of MEC leadership and its Secretariat so that Malawi can achieve a universally accepted election result.

Mkwezalamba made these remarks when he appraised the media on the role civil society organizations (CSOs) will take in support of the concerned citizens who have filed a case seeking nullification of the Parliamentary and Local Government Elections in line with ConCourt ruling of 3rd February, 2020.

He said the Committee has understood the motivation for the legal pursuit in that it is not being pursued as a political vendetta despite the concerns arising from a political situation.

“As a nation, we need to set records straight through use of appropriate legal institutions to help us clear people’s myths and concerns over national matters. To this effect, we endorse and support their application as also highlighted below, which forms the basis of our entry into this matter,” said Mkwezalamba.

“It is a fact that both MPs and councilors benefited from the same Tippex, which messed up presidential vote, the same MEC commissioners and staff, the same party monitors and observers; hence, it cannot be fair and just to simply condemn presidential results and not the rest, there isn’t any equity here,” he added.

Mkwezalamba was flanked by other network members such as Clement Makuwa and Mike Banda, among others, when he addressed the Monday afternoon press briefing.

Banda said it remains a challenge to confirm MEC’s incompetency after managing over parliamentary and local government elections results successfully, but failed to manage results for only 12 presidential candidates.

“Yet still, it remains a mystery where over 35 electoral cases ended up with MEC successfully defending over 28 of its decisions! Whereas Malawi is a constitutional order and our learned judges found MEC incompetent, it follows even that all its pronouncements require being nullified on the basis of such incompetency. It remains common knowledge that the same incompetency they executed presidential polls applied to MPs and councilors,” said Banda.