MEC suspends operations as Attorney General faults firing of Kunje, Mathanga
Attorney General Chikosa Silongwe has said with firing of two Commissioners of the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), Linda Kunje and Jean Mathanga, there is no Electoral Commission and has since advised the remaining Commissioners to stop discharging any duties.
Government fired Kunje and Mathanga on the premise that they were adjudged incompetent by the Supreme Court of Appeal in the Presidential Elections Case.
Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Zanga-Zanga Chikhosi, said following the decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal, the two Commissioners’ appointment was rendered defective and did not qualify for re-appointment.
But in a memo to MEC Chairperson, Justice Dr. Chifundo Kachale, Silungwe stated that one of the consequences of the rescission is that there is no Commission in accordance with the Country’s Constitution.
“One of the effects of the rescission of the appointment of the two Commissioners is that there is no Electoral Commission in accordance with section 75(1) of the Constitution.
“My advice is that the remaining members of your cohort should not discharge any duty or power of the Electoral Commission under the Constitution or an Act of Parliament until section 75(1) of the Constitution has been complied with” states Silungwe.
Section 75(1) of the Constitution says “there shall be an Electoral Commission which shall consist Commission of a Chairman who shall be a judge nominated in that behalf by the Judicial Service Commission and such other members , not being less than six, as may be appointed in accordance with an Act of Parliament.”
Kunje and Mathanga were part of the MEC Commissioners, who administered the May 21 Presidential poll being being nullified by the High Court sitting as the Constitution Court.
Meanwhile, the MEC, in line with Silungwe’s advice, has suspended it’s operations until further notice.
The development has occurred at a time when the Commission was in the process of direct engagements with Political Party Leaders in the course of implementing the Boundaries Review and Delimitation Program under its constitutional mandate.
“In view of this development and advice, the Commission has henceforth no legal authority or basis to continue implementing its activities which bcome suspended by operation of the law until further notice.
“The immediate practical implication is that the program of engagement with Political Party Leaders and the entire Boundary Review and Delimitation Programme is likewise suspended, pending the resolution of the current legal quagmire surrounding the composition of the Electoral Commission by the relevant authorities” Kachale.
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ko.a nde ku Mw kuno anthu odziwa ncito yomwe amagwila linda ndi jini palibeso wina angaithe kotelo kuti awiliwa kucotsedwa basi dziko latha.
Whores
Your mother is a whore.
The difficult but obvious question is; From which date are the two incompetent to run or administer elections in Malawi? shame.
Malume kwantele basino.Mupitatu ngati khanda.Lupanga lomwe umayesa nalo mzako lomwelo limakupweteka
Mapwevupwevu government full of idiots. Digging their own grave. Some of us knew these can’t take Malawi to Canaan. He abrogated God’s call so how can you expect him to deliver? He is being punished for his sins and brace for more chaos!
Abale ndi nlhondo ndipo nkhondo ndi anansi. Tilira ngati njuchi ndithudi. Basi, a Chilima’s akhale a President a Vice awo akhale a Chimulirenji. Zabalansstu. Biyeni, muzikawalemekezatu a Dzonziwo sipaja mumadya ukrastia…
cimwililenji ai. kulalata amene aja . oodzera waja ai
Esshhh what does it mean now? Silungwe is telling us that the government didn’t know this quence quence ? So what next now? So Muthalika and DPPITISER knew all these nonsense?
Respect APM ,a great man of wisdom & integrity,kwantele afuna Ku bibidwa
Lets not waste our time. The AGs advice is faulty. Just wait and see. If you many comments in support of the AG’s advice, just know that DPP guys are celebrated the uncelebrated.
Ife a DPP zinthu sizikuyenda what a waste of time
Let’s wait for the outcome, the set precedence. Pheee kumastand.
Mutharika is to blame for messing the country. Very stubborn idiot who never listened to anybody thinking he was like Solomon the wisest king.
Blame it on Kwantele ,APM played his trap & kwantele Ali mmadzi
Nkhondo iripo,! DPP ndi Peter Mtalika anapanga dala izi, kuyesa malamulo, ndikubweretsa chisokonezo.
Anzeru aku mmawa,mmacheza
Am not alawyer but please tell me what does it means if there is no electoral commissions ? Does it means all what these so called no commissions did in the past is null and void which includes all past by elections and of course Fresh Presidential elections and the Malawi status call remains as it was before 23rd June 2020 . Till we do another election with legitimate electro commission.
Ngini inayi tu koma ndi zofuna. So what happens
GOD DAMN! We have quite a large number of idiots!!!!! We should be concerned!!!!!
These jokers are completely lost … eish… no need to engage them. for real. eish
The country is the hands of dogs trying to pull each other in one chain am still in the stand watching
I can smell nullification of results if Mathanga and Kunje take the issue to Court.
Attorney Silungwe knows his duties as an attorney not his predecessor Kaphale pano bwenzi ali busy kulankhula malubwalubwa
Iyayi president ali ndi ufulu ochotsa ndikulemba ntchito wina aliyense blah blah blah
Silungwe I salute you!
It’s unfortunate that such issues will be taken to the same biased courts. I dint know whether Chiloma and Chakwera asked the court to rule on the competence of the commissioners and I am surprised when THE STUPID Chikhosi is relying on a matter which was not before the court to dismiss the commissioners. We did not hear that the court invited them to hear their side.
Kunje and Mathanga should not have been appointed in the first place. APM did this deliberately – whatever legal implications the country has to go through, so be it. These two do not deserve to be MEC Commissioners. I hope the President will be resolute in this matter.
Chikosa Silungwe is a good lawyer; but one lesson that an adviser should learn is that even the best advice may not be what the leader wants to follow. He should always give several options, starting with what he considers to be the best option. But just in case his bosses may want to take different options, he should also offer other less reasonable options – and give the attendant costs or consequences of taking those less palatable options. He should never think that there’s always one option.
I heard that Trump’s advisers would give him 3 options and he would usually opt for the worst of the options given. It is the prerogative of the leader as to which option to take. An adviser should not presume that his boss will always go for the best advice that the adviser offers…
Our democracy is not that mature.As a young and poor country,we should rather focus ahead.Its a Five year term kapena Miyezi 60 chonsecho we are still busy taking each other to the Courts on trivial matters zokhudza munthu mmodzi kapena awiri.Munthu wamba akuvutika pa ground level.Arrogance ndi imene yakula
Commissioners are sponsored by political parties. Just like somebody would marry a prostitute and call her his wife likewise the DPP sponsored these two to be their commissioners and MCP has no power to decide on who should be commoners for DPP ..they managed to impose Nankhumwa as leader of opposition and this time around I dont think DPP will take it laying down. Mcp will be caught by their balls. We are headed for a constitutional crisis
Silungwe also advise them that they President should also stop.
This is how people in government end up wasting tax payers money. Was that the only route to take? Penaso ma advisor a pule ndi zero pa ten
Kusamva Chakwera. All DCs are on suspension. Many PSes are on interdiction. Now MEC is gone. Kodi Chakwera do you think you can run this country alone? Why are you undermining the importance of other equally vital Offices in government by firing senior officers nilly willy? But is this fallen pastor Chakwera aware kuti zinthu sizikuyenda mumaofesimu?? Why is he always behaving contrary to the AG’s advice? Fotseki!!!
Zanu izo anthu okuba inu a DPP. DPP siyidzabweranso mboma. Amalawife tidayizika
Hehehe ziliko ku Baby Government ko. Same government contradicting itself. Obviously, whoever fired the 2 MEC Commissioners did not take AG’s advice. These 2 Commissioners will be compensated dearly.
Kodi zatere Kani? Hope a solution will be found soon.
I think the AG akupanga zonsezi Kufuna kupanga prove a point which is very unnecessary. Mordecai Msiska SC, anapereka legal opinion regarding unbundling of UNIMA after anthu atakupanga fault true to his character as a true statesman he let it go. As we are talking today commencement day yaka new universities yakhazikidwa. Hon AG anapereka faulty legal opinionand instead of letting it go ngati mmene Msiska SC anachitira he is trying very hard to prove kuti he was right! Hon AG, how can you be right when everyone knows that the laws of this country were flouted when choosing Kunje and Mathanga? You in fact even acknowledged this so what would be the legal basis of maintaining them? Kunje ndiwamwano and she should bounce once and for all…
not all battles are made to be won, some are made to be ignored, and its my belief that on this one, our president has goofed.
Since the term used by Secretary to the President is “rescission” then the government has compromised the MEC and its decision including the one that ushered Chakwera into office. Technically the presidency has to go back to APM until we have another elections by a legally mandated MEC
Bravo Silungwe awuzitse a bomawo wayitha kwambiri. Chodandaulitsa is that we will end up paying them monies for the term they were supposed to cover bcoz if anything they were to be dismissed before 2020 re-elections not after they appended their signatures for Chakwera’s victory this is ridiculous.
Really what is the point here? Is Chakwera and his SPC dragging their feet on an issue that they cannot resolve? It is not possible to overturn the decision that was made by the previous president. It might mean that even the June 23rd elections were null and void since their were presided over by these two ladies. This is very unreasonable and a waste of time. Just flexing their muscles to show that they are the ones in charge.
Chikhosi is a real pain in the neck. Why doesn’t he seek legal opinion from AG. He doesn’t need a Std 8 certifcate to know and appreciate the need for consultations for expert advice. This is an embarassment to the Tonse Akale Govt. DPP is dead already why bother with the two lame horses for the party. President Chakwera has heavy excess package on his that will bring him down soon or later. The challenge is that him and Mkaka seek legal opinion from barefoot lawyers who lead them astray and get the ridiculed by the watching press
I don’t see the AG faulting Government for the firing of the two. If my memory serves me correctly the Courts and the Parliamentary Committee on Appointments had declared the two incompetent. Under Section 75 (4) of the republican Constitution the President has authority to fire any Commissioner of MEC competently declared incompetent by a legally constituted entity under the law such as courts, parliament etc. APM is to blame for the mess and for undermining the law.
Kkkkkkk. Mental country
This country shall never have a genius in the name of Kelvin .His addvice is very clear even to a layman like me.
Remember, no wastage of taxpayers money to foot legal costs. Whoever is guilty in the line of duty for making stupid decisions will bear the consequences. You set the precedence yourselves so no turning back. Pure politics of hate! We will indeed suffer under this regime.
Ng’ona ndi ng’ona basi.Instead of fulfilling promises busy firing , arresting rivals,even before investigating.
Cabinet ikuchedwa bwanji!
cabinet yachani munthu apachira uyu
He needs a special barber. And a new book.
How does one fire the same commissioners that presided over a free and fair election that you won and call them incompetent? Pali nzeru apa? What does that say about your own election? These Mcp people keep grudges like mfiti yachikazi.useless
Why is everything written by Silungwe Chikosa leaked to the public? Where is the confidentiality in the government? Anyway this will be easily resolved by appointing other competent people to replace the Mutharika concubines. Was it not the same Silungwe who asked the court to fire the commissioners?
Kuputa mavu pachisatu uku….kaya zanu izo
CHAKWERA WE THOUGHT YOU ARE WISE. NOW ITS AN INSIDE BATTLE.
YOU WILL END UP BEING HUMILIATED BY YOUR OWN STUPID ACTIONS.
IT WAS SAME ISSUE WITH APM, HE NEVER CONSULTED, HE WAS ILL ADVISED INSTED. THATS WHY WE KICKED HIM OUT.
NOW ITS YOU AGAIN
Did the Tonse Anyayese consult the AG before making such a decision? This boma is useless indeed. Was it not the same cohort of Commissioners that ushered them into power?
This is a game of “wachiwona ndani” I can sense someone smiling, hoping for an opportunity to bring in their own Commissioners.
So how has the AG faulted the firing of the commissioners in this case? He has just provided legal opinion. Be serious in your reporting.
Kodi tsano bwa? Julo julo uy mpongozi wa pilizidenti omanena kuti apereka ndalama zokwana 500mita kuti ogwirire nchito ya malire amaconstuency. Tsano apa mlitinso MEC palije? Kodi simukambirana mukamapanga ziganizo zokhudza o Malawi? Apatu mwanyula maliro a eni.Kayendetsedwe kaboma kotere sinaonepo pa zaka zankhaninkhani nakhala pa charo pano .Awa ndi masanje enieni. Government is serious business not phada.
Kunje and Mathanga were not given their appointment letters and were not even being given their duty allowances meaning they were not working. Silungwe then says no these two in MEC means no MEC. Meaning the MEC which administered the re-run elections was default or void. The elections which ushered in Chakwera were null.
Sapesa nde dolotu.
This government is making the same mistakes JB made in attacking previous government instead of moving forward with development. No sane person would wait almost a year to fire someone even after being legally advised not to do so. This was frivolous.
Silungwe do you mean we should conduct new polls? Because if the court sustains zangazangas stupid letter of dismissal, then the commission wasn’t properly composed.
Or you tonse alliance people are just too clever acting like you disagree yet in the dark you meet and plan on how best to get rid of opposition commissioners.
ONLY TIME WILL TELL.