MEC’s Mathanga refuses to resign and denies she is incompetent

May 19, 2020 Wanga Gwede - Nyasa Times 63 Comments

Malawi Electoral Commission’s (MEC)  commissioner responsible for electoral services Jean Mathanga  has defiantly said she will not resign for  her role in mismanaging the 2019 Tripartite Elections after Parliament, the Constitutional Court and Supreme Court of Appeal found the commissioners incompetent and their positions untenable.

MEC chairperson for electoral services  Jean Mathanga  (r) flanked by NRB Chief Director Macford Somanje  says she will not resign until her contract runs out on June 5.- pic by Lisa Kadango 

At a news conference held on Tuesday in Lilongwe which she chaired, Mathanga was asked by a journalist if he will heed calls to resign.

In her response, Mathanga, a close ally of MEC embattled chairperson Jane Ansah, rejected any calls for her to resign

“I am not resigning,” said Mathanga emphatically in a televised news conference.

“I will continue discharging my duties to  the end of my contract which is June 5 2020,” she added.

She also insisted that the 2019 elections were not rigged and therefore any verdict that commissioners are incompetent is faulty.

“I am not incompetent,” she stressed visibly looking that she is leading normal life.

In its judgement on February 3, the five-judge panel of the High Court of Malawi sitting as a Constitutional Court nullified the May 21 2019 presidential election over alleged irregularities and tasked Parliament’s Public Appointments  Committee to assess the competence of MEC commissioners.

The committee recommended that the commissioners be fired and a new team appointed. However, President Peter Mutharika ignored the recommendations.

But in its May 8 judgement, a seven-judge panel of the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal, while upholding the nullification of the election, also queried the competence of MEC commissioners.

Other commissioners,  the Reverent Clifford Baloyi,  the Reverend Killion Mgawi, Elvey Mtafu, Moffat Banda, Yahaya M’madi, Linda Kunje and Jean Mathanga. Have also refused to resign for their role in presiding over a flawed electoral process.

However,  Commissioner Mary Nkosi has proceeded to leave pending expiry of her tenure next month.

On April 1 2020 MEC chief elections officer Sam Alfandika told Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee that the commission wrote President Peter Mutharika to consider hiring new commissioners as the current ones’ tenure is expiring on June 5.

Ansah, a judge of the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal,  who is on record as having indicated that she would step down if the Supreme Court upheld the findings of the Constitutional Court, is also clinging to her MEC post.  But her term expires in October.

According to the Electoral Commission (Amendment) Act 2017, the President shall, subject to Section 75 of the Constitution, appoint suitably qualified persons to be commissioners on such terms and conditions as the Public Appointments Committee of Parliament shall determine

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63 replies on “MEC’s Mathanga refuses to resign and denies she is incompetent”

  1. Hahaha sindikuona chifukwa chopangila resign……..the court that made the ruling said”elections didn’t go well” in there recommendation they said “their has to be another free fresh election in 150days” if they had found the mec body incompetent wouldn’t they have made the recommendation ryt away??? Malawi’s development lies in the ppo’s mindset not leaders

  3. Spot on Mathanga. You are on employment contract and if you resign, technically you have breached the contract and will loose all your benefits. Let anyone who forces you to resign put their money where their mouths are.

  4. You are incompetent Jean. You are incompetent. Even your face shows only incompetency. You have been proven so by the learned judges of two respected courts. Mungonena kuti you are supporting a corrupt government from which you have been benefiting

  6. Jean namathanga ndi mfiti ngati grezeder Jeffrey , Jane Ansah, azimayi oluka awa m’maso muli gwa pa kwacha

  8. She is a DPP diehard and we know “Disregard For The Law” is DPP’s trademark.In fact it’s APM speaking whenever she opens her mouth.

  10. If she denies her incompetence which the concourt and Supreme Court of Appeal found;

    Is it not in contempt of Court? Legal Opinion please !

    1. If the court did not find the parliamentary and local government elections flawed is Namathanga incompetent then? Isn’t the failure of courts to annul the other two elections a sign of incompetence in our courts?

    2. Even the court makes mistakes just bcoz alot of ppo made a remark does not make something ryt

      1. MEC is competent. MPs and Councilors were elected through the same MEC – You are only libidous / ndi nyere ya upresident. Soon Peter will tell you alipo mpaka 2024. No fresh election ngati mufuna tipite tor tripartite elections

  11. Mary Nkosi is the only hypocrite of the bunch. The rest are not afraid to stand for what they believe in whether it is good or bad.

    1. Unless if you tell me that they will stay away from any exercise doing in the forthcoming presidential election yes will agree that they were and are competent, but if they are clinging to preside over the coming election then it doesn’t add up. Mukavitesanso then agreeing your incompetence and mukufuna muonongenso a DPP inu Kuti gogowanuyi asachoke or Malawi isakumufuna.

  12. A ruling that does not give sense will never be respected. The tumbuka judges will destroy our nation. No president in history of malawi trusted a tumbuka starting from Kamuzu. The combination of the tumbuka judges, Chilima and Chakwela is dangerous for our country.

    1. @TRUTH, you are entitled to your views and being a cadet we know you are bitter. Sorry for that. But for us , we feel justice was done and our judges have shown the whole world that we can find justice if indeed we seek it. They have also shown the world that we have judges who value integrity.

    2. I am glad I don’t belong to your tribe. But the ruling has shown that your tribes man has no power which he claimed the constitution conferred on him. He is helpless, he has to compete in a real election not the one which he stole. It will be a year tomorrow since your grandpa used tippex to steal an election.

    3. You mean the answer to all this is Lhomwe Judges? Unfortunately there aren’t any. It requires those made of sterner stuff to be judge.and only a handful of Lhomwes can qualify

      1. The first black Chief Justice in Malawi was a Lhomwe(Makuta), another ( Unyolo), another ( Munlo) and another ( Msosa) all Lhomwes.There are many Lawyers from the Lhomwe Belt who are capable to be judges. Just watch the space!

  14. I don’t know that tilitonse has a bunch of idiots. Did Cilima really go to school. MCp watchout. Cilima is breaking your party into pieces.
    Why is mcp not saying anything? Alliance imatha kulanditsa chibwenzi. Lero Cilima akuoneka ngati ali pa ballot. Abusa okugwa mnyamata uyu wakukhwefulani mkabudula.Mai Mathanga don’t fear these idiots zokodzera zao zili ngati ma wire a gitala.Mutinenesa pambali mudziwe kuti ambili takwiya ndi Cilima. Ndevu ngati mphaka wogwera munsuko wa madzi amphale. Anthu Ena afupi amafupuka ndi mmutu momwe.

    2. Read the headline first before you start commenting your filthy comments.The story does not mention about Chilima,so where is he coming in to your comment?Stop showing us that ndiwe mbuli.

  15. Please leave these money hungry poor commissioners alone nobody should touch them….if attacked they will use that as an excuse to delay or cancel the elections.

    They have lost all the court cases and keeping their jobs until June 5 is the only victory they are hoping for….Monga mukudziwa mavuto azachuma pa Malawi.

    These commissioners know that their careers are finished forever, if DPP can’t win who is gonna give them a job in Malawi? Their CVs are so soiled and the retirement package from MEC is their only hope they have, so please do not take this away from these desperate souls otherwise some of them will kill themselves.

  17. How can judiciary rule that mec is incompetent yet them themselves they are incompetent too even at international level, they can’t match. Few judges are making things hectic ‘coz bribes. We are watching you.

    2. Totally agree. International legal experts have faulted ConCourt and Supreme Court judgement as completely flawed.

      1. which international legal expert you are talking about? the ruling is a landmark world over and it will be a key precedent and help many countries in the world in settling electoral disputes, read some judgements by house of Lords in the UK and compare, if you are a lay person in legal matters better keep quite.

      2. This is wishful thinking. Which international legal experts are you talking about? We know kuti izi ndi zimene mumanamizana macet mukafasa ku camp kwanu.

    3. I have never seen stupid person like you Clement.Honestly,how can you support such stupidity of what your MEC did on just ended elections?

    4. Which incompetency of the court at international level are you ignorantly talking about? Why are you showing ignorance here? Anyway, we do understand that being a cadet, you are bitter with the judgement.

  19. Dont mislead the people Nkosi hasn’t resigned she is on leave! Do you know what it means to resign?

  20. MEC you are refusing to resign for your own good reasons of beneficiaries that’s right, Koma funso Langa Nadi mwati you are competent ok eti tamva tsono pamenepa muvotesanso potengela Kuti simukuvomeleza Kuti zisankho Za 2019 simunayendetse bwino? Why don’t you also say Kuti simuvotetsa zisankho Zina potengela zigamulo zonse Za ma court awiri Kuti sizinayendetsedwedi bwino ndi inuyo a MEC? Then Ngati zisankho munayendetsa bwino y muli busy preparing for other election, kwaine wakumudzi sindikuzimvetsa. Siyani kuvotetsa if you really are or were competent

  23. The Mps are the ones who is supposed to resign as they have been chosen by the said incompetent Commissioners.. I cant even understand the whole issue,which almost 70% of elections were free..The legal affairs of Parliament please show the world that your very good in following the rule of laws by resigning. People will follow suit since it will definitely mean that all the Elections were poorly managed.

    1. The MPs were not chosen kkkkkkk by commissioners BUT elected by their Constituents YET on the Presidential elections MEC worked with DPP to avert the will of the people by other things application of Tippex. I know it’s hard to understand when one is blindly following without thinking.

    2. I think you were deprived of oxygen at birth, your thinking is very stunted. But then you are a cadet, so no surprises there.

    3. True the MPs are illegal because it was the same MEC tippex system they were elected through

  24. JEAN Namathanga – beautiful, STRONG and intelligent. Don’t resign. You administered the tripartite elections well. The corrupt courts have not faulted the use of tippex in parliamentary and local government elections. They haven’t annulled the other elections. WE SUPPORT you and JANE ANSAH.

    3. Juma wake osamphunziradi uyu! Law mmayidziwa koma? Court limayimba mulandu omwe munthu wasuma and some MPs sponsor themselves during campaign therefore, the court cannot generalize, ngati ma mp wo sadasume palibe chopelekera judgement ya ma mps. There’s a difference between a case of theft and possession of suspected stollen goods.

  25. The witches we have in Malawi are the most educated ones who went all the way to the best universities in the world.

    I sincerly desire if the Malawi Army rule this counrty just may few years kick out these bastards like Peter and asa .
    Pls Mcp and Utm after jully arrest all these people the list is known.

    Pls mcp make sure no official from the MEC and DPP to cross the border after the elections pls pls help us ibeg.

  27. Mathanga Jean bravo! Proud of you and all commissioners inclusive. It is true you are not incompetent. If you managed the elections for 192 and about 4,300 Ward Councillors which had tippex too, used the same duplicate sheets, etc now how come that you failed to manage elections for 9 presidential candidates? That is total madness at its best. The fact that Mvalo went to court backing the legitimacy of mps and councillors it shows you handled the elections very very well. In other words they are saying you managed 90% and hence you deserve distinction. So i 100% support you stance not to resign and let me say this bank on what Mvalo is doing to back the legitimacy of mps and councillors in which case they say MEC you did a good job so if it is like that then the presidential results were not supposed to be annulled. Awatu tikuwadziwa its a calculated move to take power through back door koma chaka chake ndi chino pa 2 July pakutha zonse sadzapanganso phokoso olo!

  29. Jean don’t resign, the whole judgement was based on fictious reasoning…if anything it is MCP which tried to rig the elections in the central region, we have witnesses in Salima who can testify word verbatim…Jane Ansah knows the truth of what happened; MEC and DPP were framed in the rigging scheme…

    1. Constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech apart, you’re an idiot my fellow Malawian, if you’re Malawian at all, that is!!! You want to tell the world that our ConCourt, Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal and not to mention our Parliament were all wrong??? You must be riding the corrupt gravy train, too, I guess!!!

    2. Know to read the signs of the time. wasting your time. ukadeti siukuthandizani. dyera silabwino.
      Malawi is bigger than MEC and DPP. Whether u like it or not change is coming. If you resist it, it will change you. Malawi is tired with a few bunch of greedy and corrupt people. God is watching.

    3. Your thinking and reasoning is extremely strange and archaic. With people like you I am not surprised DPP can’t stop suffering humiliations in courts and everywhere.

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