MCP demands MEC to produce audit report by firm hired in Malawi 2019 elections: Bank statements of data clerks

Malawi Congress Party (MCP) has asked the Constitutional Court  that  Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) should  make available an audit report by a firm that was hired to certify the disputed May 21 2019 Presidential Election.

One of MCP’s lawyers, Senior Counsel Titus Mvalo, has confirmed that the party had applied to the court to demand the electoral body to make available identities of data entry clerks and their respective bank statements from May 21 to June 29 2019.

Mvalo said this has been lodged with the court in support of an application for the disclosure of the documents.

“I refer to the sworn statement in support of an application for the disclosure of the documents filed on 7th June 2019, in addition to the documents listed in the application for disclosure. I demand disclosure of following documents for all presidential tally sheets for all the 28 districts from 73 C and original presidential results sheets for all 5,002 polling centres among others,” reads a swort statement from MCP signed by Mvalo seen by Nyasa Times.

In the demands, MCP further request the  copies of contract documents  such as call for expression of interest and bidding that MEC received from all competing firms, notices of award of contract and the signed contract documents from the auditors the commission hired during the elections.

The MCP has  further  demanded all records of data clerks’ bank  statements to ascertain if they were financially influenced to manipulate the elections.

“We are looking for a second respondent’s constituency returning officer and their respective bank statements for the period beginning 1st May, 2019 as it is alleged that they received money to manipulate the elections results in favour of 1st respondent,” reads the sworn statement from the MCP lawyers.

According to Mvalo, the demand  comes after allegations that on or about May 23 2019, a an electoral top official told the clerks at Comesa Hall in Blantyre that “someone” wanted to give them money for lunch and went further to tell them not to bite the hand that fed them.

In the statement, Mvalo says the clerks allegedly received K18 million each through their respective bank accounts.

Mvalo also said the party had applied to the court to restrain MEC from tampering with election documents and hand over to court all original election-related documents.

“We have filed two applications—one is an application for discovery, the way MEC proceeded was that it was relying on duplicate (documents), but we want the original documents. That’s a disclosure application. Another application is on preservation of documents in their custody,” he said.

 

Mvalo said they noted that MEC were removing some documents from their website.

 

Voting in the tripartite elections took place on May 21 in 5 002 polling stations nationwide and DPP President Peter Mutharika was declared a winner seven days after the voting, securing his second five-year term.

The results have, however, been challenged by Mutharika’s main contenders, MCP  and UTM Party, who have called for the nullification of the presidential poll, arguing some anomalies were overlooked.

Both MCP and UTM are challenging the validity of the election results which declared Mutharika winner—accusing the ruling party alongside officials within MEC of rigging the elections in Mutharika’s favour.

According to the official MEC results, Mutharika won the elections by 1 940 709 votes against Chakwera’s 1 781 740, but the opposition says the elections were marred by several irregularities, among them, stuffing ballot papers with pre-marked ballots, tampering with election result sheets through correction fluid known as Tippex and officials keeping result sheets at home.

UTM president Saulos Chilima has specifically alleged that MEC chairperson Jane Ansah spearheaded a rigging plot as she was biased against both Chakwera and himself, claiming in a leaked letter to her that UTM has evidence of the allegations.

But DPP wants the case dismissed for purportedly being irregular, defective and lacking sworn affidavits.

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