Malawi fresh elections cannot be presided by current bunch of rude and arrogant commissioners

For Malawians who wondered why Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) commissioners are sticking to their positions despite the Constitutional Court in Lilongwe last week nullifying the May 21 2019 presidential results on the basis of what it described as widespread, systematic and grave irregularities, the answers came this week in loads and buckets.

Embattled MEC commissioners

In total compliance with the ruling of the court to take a look at the commissioners with a view to trigger a process of their removal, the Public Appointments Committee of Parliament this week has been meeting the men and women who managed the disastrous May 21 elections.

Courtesy of live radio broadcasts, we were able to follow the interaction and yes, it confirmed our fears.

The five judges who annulled the elections in Lilongwe were spot on.

The May 21 election should not be allowed to stand because the legal processes that are in the electoral laws and Constitution were grossly flouted.

But it is more than what the court said that went wrong.

As we have seen this week, the people that were entrusted to run the election are not fit at all and most of them have no clue about the responsibility that was put on their shoulders and how they were supposed to go about it.

What came out very clearly is that despite the mess they caused to the May 21 election, something that the court found, some commissioners are still adamant and rude and are clinging to their imaginary belief that all went well.

While some such as Linda Kunje were outright rude as she went about defending the indefensible, others such as Mary Nkosi were very straightforward in saying that with the fiasco that was the May 21 elections, they are ready to go but are waiting for their benefits, that include vehicles (yes top-of-the-range Toyota Prado VX courtesy of poor taxpayers) which are only payable at the end of their four-year term in four months’ time.

Despite the mess some such as Moffat Banda are too loyal to those that appointed them that we could see and hear the struggle in their voices not to put their foot wrong to displease their political masters while others such as Jean Mathanga were too smooth spoken with doubts written all over their faces about the truth behind what they were saying.

After all, why should Malawians trust what was coming from the mouth of the commissioners when the court has already spoken that this group is an incompetent one, replete with evidence?

But these commissioners can shout their voices until they crack; it will not change that they presided over a process marred with irregularities, forcing the court to declare it a nullity.

They can wait for their benefits or lie the whole day that they tried their best until cows come home, but no one should believe them.

Malawi must hold elections in five months time but the new polls cannot be presided over again by a bunch of rude and arrogant commissioners.

Malawians deserve a clean poll this time and the excitement has already started with the political wheeling and dealing already underway.

With the court ordering a fresh election within 150 days, Malawians are already discussing possible permutations and alliances.

Everyone was pleasantly and unpleasantly surprised, depending on which side they support when Malawi News shocked the nation on Saturday after reporting that UTM is ready to talk to anyone, including Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

It started with warming up of relations between the supporters of the two parties on social media.

There is a maxim that says there are no permanent enemies in politics but I guess the shock was just too much for those who thought UTM can never have a dalliance with the same people they rudely called Apumbwa not long time ago.

Many questions come to mind. What has changed for this wheeling and dealing? Can such an alliance between UTM and DPP work and in whose interest would it be if it were to happen, if at all it can happen? Who is to lose more or gain between UTM and DPP, if such an alliance was to happen?

What is baffling is that the alliance, that some Malawians thought was obvious and want to see between Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and UTM, to build on their unity displayed at court as petitioners in the constitutional case, seems not obvious after all and all wrong signs are there for all to see.

It is clear that there are all sorts of sticking points central of which, I suppose, is the issue of who would be a candidate and who would be a running mate between MCP president Lazarus Chakwera and UTM leader Saulos Chilima.

Eventually with all these problems and permutations, the question that only time will answer is: Shall we have alliances at all or what we will see is that all these parties will go into the presidential election on their own.

With the 50 plus 1 percent as a definition of majority as ruled by the Constitutional Court in Lilongwe, is Malawi poised to see a run-off if the ruling is upheld by the Supreme Court.

It is all exciting time ahead and this should not be dampened by a bunch of an incompetent committee of Mec commissioners who are merely waiting to walk away with shiny Prados courtesy of taxpayers’ money.

They are all beyond their sale-by-date. We need a new commission in place.

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Nicolous
Nicolous
4 years ago

Well said . I enjoyed reading this article

Pachalo
Pachalo
4 years ago

Commissioner Kunje should know that every Malawian was watching when she slammed the door behind her on our ELECTED honourable MPs! That rudeness deserves punishment! Parliament is a co equal branch of government and am sure she cannot do that of the President was questioning her! She acted so immature and emotional that as Malawians we were so worried that this kind of personalities mismanaged our elections! There is away one can communicate to others a divergent view and rudeness only serves the ignorant!

Ambele Kwacheni Banda
Ambele Kwacheni Banda
4 years ago

Namathanga, is some lady thou

Pungwatu
Pungwatu
4 years ago

Yes Moffat said he can defeat even MDF Soldiers him being an ex MYP

PATRIOTISM
PATRIOTISM
4 years ago

I wonder why the Commission has not Lawyers except the tired and compromised Jane Ansah, no qualified accountants and not even Political or Computer Scientists.It is full of people who can be manipulated.

namatetule
4 years ago

For me, Linda Kunja did a great job. If answering as she did is being rude, then I wish I could be rude too. I was watching that woman with great admiration. Mrs Nkosi is a fake

Lego
4 years ago
Reply to  namatetule

Your brain is not working.Fools like you will always worship their masters even if the master says we shall kill you

Boncholi
Boncholi
4 years ago
Reply to  namatetule

uku ndi kuyankhula kwa mmodzi mwa amene anapindula nawo ndi umbanda umenewu, mavuto tili nawo koma atha pompano bwana namatetule, sooner than what u expected.

tung'ande
tung'ande
4 years ago

I did not notice the author of the article is George Kasakula calls commisioners a bunch, George is probably the most useless editor times has ever had. since times is not the news paper one can trust, they have midiocrity because they need cheap labour. By the way George even if you change the commisioners, illegularities will still be there because you have 12,000 people working on elections. People go to the same class and taought by the same teacher yet when examed they give different answers.

Lego
4 years ago
Reply to  tung'ande

Whether the irregularities will be there we don’t care but all we want is new faces in the MEC camp

tung'ande
tung'ande
4 years ago

Linda and Mathanga put up a good show to these uneducated bastards who wanted to show off. I was not pleased with the chair because he wanted to threaten the ladies but they were not cowed. The questions were just silly only one person asked a relevant question. Why would the committee waste time asking the commisision about what was proved in court. Was this a retrial. I had expected they will point out on the annomalies in the last elections and ask them how they would handle elections in future.

Fake Petros
Fake Petros
4 years ago
Reply to  tung'ande

Prosecutors often ask questions that deliberately will rattle the accused to provoke emotional reactions. When the accused gets angry they know the case is over- the defense team has lost it. Usually it’s an admission of guilt, a defensive mechanism.
Ndiye achina Kunje by slamming doors, displaying utterly rudeness were being assertive????……. They were just doing themselves injustice and of course that of their masters

Chatsalira
Chatsalira
4 years ago

The headline and what you started writing is about the fate of MEC Commissioners.
Why include the alliance issue.
The alliance discussion is a separate topic for another day. Free lessons on journalism.

A Dzonzi
A Dzonzi
4 years ago

it is very clear that Jane Ansah and the commissioners did not take their responsibility seriously. Their testimony before PAC demonstrated some loose cannons, misdirected, reckless, arrogant, incompetent, good for nothing individuals whose performance was way below their pay grade. The revel of recklessness and incompetence is beyond comprehension. They should NEVER be allowed to hold any public office, they are a disgrace.

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