HRDC says will not call off demos as pleaded by Muluzi:  ‘Ansah must go first’

Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) leadership says they will continue to organise demonstrations until Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Jane Ansah  resign for allegedly presiding over a flawed electoral process in the May 21 2019 Tripartite Elections.

HRDC on Tuesay held dialogue talks with former president Bakili Muluzi who had  moved in to quell the post-election tension in the country by inviting activits  to a meeting to find “a civil solution” to protests.

Muluzi, who governed Malawi from 1994 to 2004, pleaded with HRDC leadership to call off the demos and that he would engage Ansah to reflect on the resignation call.

But the HRDC Vice-chairperson Gift Trapence said  will not call off the demos. And asked Muluzi to talk to Ansah, a judge of the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal, to resign as MEC chairperson, to save the current political impasse.

“For dialogue to continue, let Ansah resign first,” said Trapence.

Besides Muluzi, State-funded Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) has also offered to mediate in the post-election stalemate.

Since May 27 when Ansah declared President Peter Mutharika of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as winner of the presidential race with 1 940 709 votes representing 38.57 percent followed by Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president Lazarus Chakwera with 1 781 740 votes representing 35.41 percent with the country’s immediate past vice-president Saulos Chilima of UTM Party finishing third and ahead of four other aspirants with 1 018 369 votes representing 20.24 percent, tension has engulfed the country and, in some cases resulting in protests marred by looting and violence.