Malawi Electoral Commission has suffered a major embarrassment after being ordered to immediately vacate its offices at Development House following its failure to respond to a tenancy renewal offer, exposing deep confusion, poor coordination, and growing pressure surrounding the controversial relocation of the electoral body to Blantyre.
MEC Chairperson for MEC, Justice, Annabel Mtalimanja
Property owners, Capital Developments Limited (CDL), through property managers MPICO, issued the eviction communication after MEC reportedly ignored both an official office accommodation offer and subsequent follow-ups.
In a strongly worded letter dated May 20, 2026 addressed to MEC Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mpesi, MPICO General Manager Stella Sokosa said the Commission failed to respond to an offer that had been issued on April 27, 2026 and expired on May 10 after a 14-day validity period.
“We regret to advise that the offer validity period of 14 days expired on 10th May 2026. We further put it on record that we did not receive a response to our letter and the follow-ups that we made to your office,” reads part of the communication.
The letter bluntly informed MEC that, without a formal agreement in place, the electoral body was expected to immediately vacate the premises and hand over vacant possession by May 21.
The dramatic development lays bare the mounting disorder surrounding MEC’s resistance to relocate its headquarters from Lilongwe to Blantyre, a directive President Peter Mutharika issued last year.
Government had already signaled that it was washing its hands off MEC’s Lilongwe tenancy.
In an earlier letter dated April 7, 2026, the Ministry of Lands informed authorities that government would no longer renew tenancy arrangements for the offices occupied by MEC at Development House.
Yet despite the looming deadline, MEC appears to have done little to secure its continued stay or publicly clarify its relocation plans — a silence that has now left the institution exposed and scrambling.
Even more striking was the response from MEC spokesperson Sangwani Mwafulirwa, who admitted he was unaware of the latest developments, raising fresh questions about communication and preparedness within one of the country’s most critical constitutional bodies.
Meanwhile, the Office of the President and Cabinet says government’s position remains unchanged: MEC must relocate to Blantyre.
OPC spokesperson Focus Maganga said government would no longer pay rent for MEC offices in Lilongwe because the Commission was expected to operate from Blantyre going forward.
“The government was paying rentals because they were in Lilongwe. But now they were directed to relocate to Blantyre,” Maganga said.
“The question of government paying rentals no longer arises because MEC will not be in Lilongwe and does not need office space in Lilongwe.”
Maganga further revealed that another government institution is expected to take over the building, effectively shutting the door on MEC’s continued occupation of Development House.
Although he clarified that the eviction letter did not originate from OPC itself, Maganga admitted the move reflected government’s broader expectation that MEC complies with the relocation order.
He also dismissed arguments that the directive threatens MEC’s constitutional independence.
“The directive has nothing to do with the constitutional mandate of MEC. The commission remains independent, and just having its offices in Blantyre does not change that,” he said.
The relocation saga has triggered heated legal and political debate for months, with critics accusing government of attempting to exert pressure on the electoral body ahead of major national electoral processes.
MEC has repeatedly resisted the move, citing operational, administrative, and logistical concerns.
Earlier this month, however, the High Court dismissed an application by three citizens who sought to block the relocation and keep MEC in Lilongwe.
The ruling effectively strengthened government’s position on the matter.
Notably, all the other affected institutions — including Malawi Housing Corporation, Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority, and Malawi Prison Service — have already complied with the relocation directive.
That has left MEC increasingly isolated, cornered between political resistance, operational uncertainty, and now the humiliation of being formally kicked out of its offices for failing to respond to its landlords.
