MCP ‘occupy’ Capital Hill in march dubbed ‘Mutharika must fall’: Protests against Malawi tippex-ed election
Capital Hill, the seat of government in Lilongwe was under siege on Tuesday as scores of opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and its alliance partners vowed to choke government operations.
Disgruntled MCP supporters staged another demonstration to express their anger with the outcome of the just-ended May 21 elections.
The demonstrations came after another peaceful march by party supporters on Friday in the streets of Lilongwe.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Peter Mutharika was declared winner in the elections which some civil society organisations such as non-partisan Public Affairs Committee (PAC) have branded as not being credible.
Analysts also say the scar of Tippex all over the ballots, and the rush to announce the results without spending a time to study its contents suggest that the Jane Ansah led Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) did not cover itself with glory.
The MCP, Peoples Party and Freedom Party supporters matched from the MCP headquarters to the Capital Hill in peaceful protest to force all civil servants out of their offices.
The march was dubbed ‘Mutharika must fall’, apparently from the remarks party president Lazarus Chakwera said last week that “for Malawi to progress, Mutharika must fall.”
There was a stand-off at the gates of the Capital Hill as police officers manning the gates said they could only allow a few party representatives to get into the government seat.
The party faithful were chanting songs in praise of MCP president Lazarus Chakwera and demonizing Mutharika for getting the presidency through what they called the (in)famous correction fluid Tippex.
A party official speaking from the megaphone said they want everyone at Capital Hill to leave their offices because the government is illegally elected.
Police asked MCP supporters not to proceed with flushing out people at Capital Hill but the party protesters, mostly comprising youths and donning the party’s red T-shirts, were not relenting.
The group carried tree branches while chanting anti- DPP songs and heaping praise on Lazarus Chakwera as the legitimate winner of the highly contested elections.
“Let us peacefully express ourselves,” said George Zulu, Deputy campaign director for MCP.
The MCP supporters managed to power the police manning the Capital Hill gates and gate crashed into the government seat compound.
They literally seized the Capital Hill as the youth league members were in control of the gates at Capital Hill.
The MCP cadres managed to force everyone at Capital Hill out of office.
Police deployed a contingent of law enforcers to Capital Hill, which is now under lock down.
Meanwhile, MCP is seeking redress in the courts and has cited “several rigging acts” by suspected agents of the governing DPP in the results management of the May 21 Tripartite Elections as having distorted results in DPP’s favour.
In a case filed at the Lilongwe Registry of the High Court of Malawi by MCP’s lawyer Senior Counsel Titus Mvalo, identifies the country’s oldest political establishment as the 1st claimant in the case, party president and Chakwera as 2nd Claimant with electoral body MEC as the defendant.
In the affidavit, Mvalo explicitly accuses DPP members, supporters, sympathisers, officials and agents of engaging in “several rigging acts” that allegedly distorted the results in favour of DPP “against the votes and will of the people of Malawi”.
On claims of officials allegedly caught tampering with results, the lawyer mentions a returning officer in Nsanje, Fred Thomas, as having “actually [been] found tampering with result sheets”.
Mvalo also cites cases of pre-marked ballot papers allegedly stuffed in ballot boxes in Zomba, Machinga and Mangochi districts.
On incidents of tampering that saw erasing fluid being used to change figures, MCP has attached to its application copies of the results sheets that were purportedly tampered with.
The affidavit also mentions an incident in Neno District where there was “an anomaly of presidential votes being 18 000 more than the parliamentary votes cast which raises the question of how that was possible”.
The party has also cited cases of presiding officers at some polling stations in Dedza and Lilongwe districts, who allegedly denied MCP election monitors access to copies of results sheets despite the fact that the voting procedure designed by MEC required each monitor to keep a signed copy of the results.
MCP contends that Mutharika “won a fraudulent election” fraught with irregularities, including alleged stuffing of ballot papers with pre-marked ballots, tampering with election results sheets through correction fluid and being found in possession of result sheets at home.
Iwetu ndiwe munthu wopusa kwabasi ngati tambala wakuda wokwera amake. Why wish I’ll for the country and the president? His term of office is not 20 years as you say. Neither yourself nor the fake accent ex-reverend are immortals. Ngati wachisuta pita ukafunde bulangete.
I am in full support of protests but I don’t condone disturbing civil servants at Capital Hill. That was very stupid. The action must never be repeated. Never.
Three quarters of all malawians have offered to die for the truth since to do so could be better than living in this injustice country where even courts themselves opt to disregard constitution and do things in their favour and unjustly.You better kill us all so that we should stop seeing this nosense.This country belongs to every malawian and we have equal rights.Injustice today, death tomorrow and you know extremely well that previous well known people who used to oppress others because of their power are now answering such sins with god himself.Mutharika has 78 years so do you think… Read more »
Mpake jane anapanga upo oti aliyese oluza azavomele kuluza kwake k20 billion sipano. Kokela kwako bcoz
i think Malawi is eyes open now those who are working wanted change while villagers were casting votes for maize which they grow them self using expensive fertilizer and farm inputs then government come and buy them at cheap price those who are working are highly taxed about 30 percent of their salary then going into the market taxed about 45 percent of the same salary someone pocket the tax money in the name of politician to buy flats in america and run small inustries the same person have bennefits all over to do business on even small scale claiming… Read more »
Is zis is broken English from a very illiterate person? Is go back to skull and come back later and argue.. kkkkkkkkk
The storming of the Bastile in 1789 by ordinary people signaled the beginning of the French Revolution
Well done ordinary people from Lilongwe for storming the seat of the tipex government
Peter simtsogoleri wadziko lino iyayi koma ndi mtsogoleri wa bungwe la MEC ndi Court chifukwa ndiamene adamusankha munthu uja ndeife a Malawi tikufuna amene tidamuvotera ndiamene apite ku State House chifukwa zachita kuonetsa kuti mMalawi aliyense sakukondwa ndimomwe a MEC motsogozedwa ndi Ansah mothandizana ndia Court pazimene anachita podzisankhira mtsogoleri wawo osadikira a Malawi iwo eni osati zopangiridwa
we are tired of him
Peter sitikumufuna akapume sadayendetse bwino dziko mzaka zisanu zapitazi ndetikufuna kusintha abweremo Dr Chakwera amene adasankhidwa ndi mMalawi aliyense amene adaponya voti
MEC and DPP CRIMINALS MUST FALL. YOU THOUGHT MALAWAWIANS WERE SLEEPING, MUNYA MUONA!!!!
It is sad that instead of focusing on gainful activities, Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, will spend the next few months in political instability. Prof Lumumba, a Kenyan academic, noted that in Africa, elections are proxy for tribalism. A tribe with the largest number of voter is most likely to win. Unless the Central has more registered voters than the South, forget asking for re-runs. A hundred re-runs will not change the outcome. What you would have done is to waste your time and money. I might add that money that you need to buy medicine… Read more »
Democracy is expensive as such the route taken is the right one. People called for Federal System of Govt and now it makes sense. This is not the Malawi of Kamuzu anymore, justice beckons and we will heed the call of democracy. Make no mistake, things will no longer be the same and those who lead have a great task to make sure that Malawi as a country is governed equally.
What is practiced in Malawi elections is not democracy my friend. It is tribalism under the guise of democracy. The only thing I learnt from the votes is that over fifty years after independence we are still tribalist people. Why are there no demostration in Thyolo or the other Lomwe belt districts. Its because they are celebrating that one of their won has ascended back into the presidency. Chakwera know that he lost but as many African leaders before him, he would rather have the country burn than accept a loss.
Fuck you mbuzi iwe! Palibe chanzeru walemba nkhandwe iwe.Azibela ma voti choncho ife tiziti democracy? kapena anthu asadzudzure chifukwa choti anthu akuthyolo avomereza manyi amewa??.Mbuzi yachabechabe ndipo dziwa kuti ine ndilibe chipani ndipo sindikudana ndiutsogoleri wa peter mutharika koma tikufuna zinthuzo zizichitika mwachilungamo osati chinyengo, sukudziwa kuti mayiko ambiri akhala ali munkhondo kaamba ka mavuto odza chifukwa cha kusamvana pa ndale?.