No foreign barristers in elections case: Chikosa Silungwe lead attorney for UTM
There are no foreign barristers hired to represent the UTM Party in the elections case where it is asking the courts to nullify the results of the May 21 presidential elections, a lead Counsel has said.
Dr. Chikosa Silungwe, who is leading a team of lawyers representing UTM’s presidential candidate Dr Saulos Chilima in the case, said in an interview with Nyasa Times on Tuesday that there are no foreign barristers who are joining them in the case.
“Maybe the other parties in the case may want to hire foreign barristers but our team has not received any instructions that we may be joined by foreign barristers,” Silungwe said.
Social media has been awash with stories that some unnamed foreign barristers have arrived in the country ready to represent the UTM in the case.
Chilima, on his own behalf and on behalf of the UTM, filed an Election Petition in the High Court seeking the nullification of the presidential elections results citing a multitude of anomalies especially in the vote counting process.
Malawi Congress Party (MCP) earlier asked the court for a re-count of the presidential vote in some districts before amending its remedy to nullification of the presidential vote.
Social media has also been awash with stories that the lawyers from two camps are refusing to work together despite that their cases are similar.
However, attorney Silungwe said his team has not been formally approached by the MCP legal team to work together on the cases.
“We have not been formally approached by the MCP Legal Team. It is still early days in the cases and it is extremely premature to be drawing conclusions at this stage,” said Silungwe.
Chilima said in a statement on May 25, 2019 during the impasse of announcement of results of the polls that the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) had three options based on the administration and management of an election to make.
He said either MEC were to nullify the aggregated vote or announce stalemate of the aggregated vote or announce the winner based on the verified aggregated vote.
“In view of the chaos that ensued under the watch of the Electoral Commission, I am calling upon the Electoral Commission for the nullification of the aggregated vote under the tripartite elections of 21 May 2019. The country must re-group and prepare for credible elections to the satisfaction of the people of Malawi. We should not allow fraudsters to continue holding this country at ransom,” said Chilima.
Despite numerous irregularities which included ‘tippex’ being used on some results sheets to alter numbers for the results of candidates, MEC went ahead to announce President Peter Mutharika as winner of the elections.
Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :
Nanga a Chikosa nkumati tili ndi legal representation? Chamba adya nthawi yanji
Chakwera adawina opanda opikisana naye kodi zinthu osangovomereza bwanji ngati mMalawi sakukufuna basi zisiye zikhale zilirimo! don’t force matters
I wanted MCP, but if we are to vote again, i will vote for DPP. Chakwera i have seen him now, he is heartless
kkkkk all the best. we as MCP know what is happening. we will vote for him again
Musaname ndinu a DPP akuba. Palibe cholakwa chomwe Chakwera wachita. Inu simukudziwa mmene zisankhozi zanyansira.
Did Chilima not call himself the masterthief? Zatheka bwanji kuti wabeledwa- matama onse kutheratu.
John, you have just been told that that its premature to talk about working together. Read between the lines
I voted for change but if the elections will be nullified I will vote for Adad. I have seen with my own eyes how MCP sympathisers in the Central region are victimizing people from the South regardless of which party they belong to.
what about those police officers who have been chased from Nsanjika palace? Dont be myopic…vote for dad…I will vote for change the whole day!
@ Councellor. Mwana a dad iwe. Ndani sakukudziwa!
Your so called Adad started it…we cannot die because of protecting good image. Both of us are responsible, the battle line is drawn…our party has been avoiding it but this is too much, we call a spade for its name…. stupid
Zanuizo. Bwanji simukuona kuipa kwa DPP pa kubera mavoti???? Simukuona kuti limeneli ndi vuto lalikuru????
“MCP lawyers have not contacted us” really? If you see the need and importance of doing so, why not you approach them? Waiting for MCP to approach you when you are also capable of doing likewise will only complicate things that are clear and straightforward
Sometimes chilima takes MCP for granted…we cannot approach you because we don’t need your help…MCP is strong based on what it believes. We are not fighting for Chakwera presidency but the stupid idea by southerners that central shall never rule it’s archaic and not good for both of us…it creates conflict between us, Kamuzu did not do it
DPP has not seen anything wrong with the Tippex results which MEC used to declare Mutharika the winner. If the same results were used to declare Chilima or Chakwera, could they have been mute are they are???
Vuto lake limenelo. Kuzikonda. You have the same case koma osagwilira limodzi. Same enemy. Thats why zikukukuvutani agalu inu
Chisilu ndi iwe. Anakuuza ndani kuti UTM siganiza ngati iwe. UTM is different from chitebankhuni party
UTM behaves like old people yet it for us youth. Am UTM but there is no way having one enemy and you file the same case twice thus not good…vomelezani we cannot build a country if we have permanent enemies in this country
Which same case are you reffering to?chakwela where he got it wrong was to appeal for a re- count for only few districts where he didn’t performer well. In other words he underated all the minors issues that made that election void. While chilima was for nullification of the whole process,now that recount has been,and LC sees that there’s no other better options now,it’s when he is joining the call for nullification. Therefore ,I would suggest that had it been that LC was not power hungry the best thing he could have done was to join SKC calling for nullification,other… Read more »
The case is still premature!
Awa ndiye agalu eni eni…