Malawi fresh elections in July may postpone: MEC says coronavirus threat to holding polls

April 1, 2020 Owen Khamula - Nyasa Times 25 Comments

Pollster, the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) says coronavirus remains a great threat to the holding of the Constitutional Court sanctioned presidential election in July.

Moffart Banda: The fate of fresh presidential election slated for July 2 hangs in balance

Commissioner Moffat Banda has said this on Tuesday in Kasungu on the sidelines of training for civic educators for the forthcoming polls.

Banda said MEC continues to monitor the trends of the disease worldwide.

“We are prepared to hold the election on July 2, this is why we continue to prepare but the coronavirus is the only threat,’ he said.

Banda said the outbreak—which has resulted in President Peter Mutharika declaring a State of Disaster—might impact of the process leading to the electoral body failing to conduct the election within the timeframe of 150 days as stipulated by the Constitutional Court (Concourt) on February 3.

“As you are aware, not more than 100 people can congregate at one place as the preventive measure against coronavirus and this is very difficult in the preparations and the holding of the election,” he said.

He said people look at each other suspiciously these days due to the coronavirus threat therefore it is not possible to bring them together.

Banda then advised the civic educators to be non partisan when did discharging their duties.

MEC chairperson Jane Ansah also told the National Elections Consultative Forum (Necof) meeting last week in Mangohci  that if the pandemic worsens, MEC might have no other option than “to put on the election on hold.”

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25 replies on “Malawi fresh elections in July may postpone: MEC says coronavirus threat to holding polls”

  1. No wonder the old fool find the way to propaganda the coronavirus so that he can hide under it ,no way Almighty God will find another way to take us out in this bandage

  3. Please don’t allow jane and her incompetent MEC ruin another election.
    DPP/UDF don’t really want to be humiliated at the ballot box and will try to hide behind the coronavirus.
    Things will not end well for peter and jane!

  5. The elections should be cancelled. Let us focus on making sure Malawi does not have a case of corona-virus.

  6. The evil opposition and corrupt courts can now see that nature has intervened. No elections and shame on Chakwera, Chilima, HRDC, ConCourt and Supreme Court judges.

  7. All over the world, elections are being postponed including big events. MEC cannot organise elections in the current environment where borders are closed, flights are grounded etc.

  9. Maintaining the status quo with DPP lead is worse than Covid 19, we are dead both ways so let the fresh elections come perchance we might breathe a sigh of relief

    1. It might be better for you to get infected with corona-virus so that you can understand why prevention is better for Malawi.

  11. Just cancel the damn thing. Many people in Malawi and outside don’t give a shit. Unnecessary Election forced upon by concourt at the time the same court was under offers of bribery. The covid 19 is karma at work

    3. You are right. Just cancel the useless election. It is unnecessary especially now we know that ConCourt judges were bribed by Chilima and Chakwera. If our courts afre ot corrupt, they would have annulled the parliamentary and local election results too because they were run by the same tippex MEC led by Jane Ansah. The fact that our courts have not done that is the clearest indication that MEC and Ansah adminstered the elections well. In fact, local and international obeservers said our polls were free and fair.

  13. Moffat choka ukagwele kwa jane konkoooooooooo!! Kodi mukukanilila bwanjiiii? Love of money is the beginning of evil!! Kaya mufune kaya musafune, the biggest hope is that Supreme Court’s April 15, 2020 is slowly coming in to give Malawians some relief from you blood and vote suckers!!

  14. Mfiti ina ndiimeneyi koma pamalawi timasungira 😈😈😈😈😈😈😈basi kukangozuka mwati muzingone zilizonse kkkk apa ndipamene muyalukire chifukwa mr tippex mfiti mthalika sazakhala akulamulira masiku amene court linapeleka akatha kkkkkk gule watsala pang’ono kuyamba kukoma kkkkkkk afiti mubwera poyera ndithu kkkkkkkkk

  15. Why would MEC postpone elections? I thought the government says we don’t have coronavirus cases in Malawi?

  16. After 150 days then we shall not have the state president. The concourt has to meet again and choose the governing council… If Peter thinks he will continue rulling then he is cheating himself. Our constitution has three options on how the country should be rulled in such times when an individual takes himself as bigger than the law itself.

  17. You are incompetent period! Leave our Malawi alone. …….We do not want you to manage the elections GO OUT PLIZ.

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