Official campaign for Malawi fresh presidential polls May 2 to June 30 — MEC
Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has said the the 60-day official campaign for the fresh presidential election ordered by the constitution court, which annulled last year’s vote results because of irregularities, will be rolled out on May 2 to June 30 before polling on July 2.
The embattled electoral commission chairperson Jane Ansah told a news conference in Blantyre on Monday when MEC outlined its electoral calendar for the re-run.
She said during the official campaign period all contesting candidates and political parties shall be free to move around the country to sell themselves to the electorate.
Ansah, who is a judge of the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal, also spelt out the need for presidetial hopefuls to abide by the code of conduct which they will sign.
“The Commission expects the candidates and their followers to adhere to the code of conduct for political parties and candidates which the candidates would have signed for,” Ansah said.
The MEC chairperson said the electoral body seeks to hold free, fair and credible elections and has the capacity to monitor all campaign activities, including ensuring “compliance” to candidates code of conduct
Ansah also said contesting candidates and political parties should be given an “equal opportunity to freely hold political campaigns” during the period to ensure a free, fair and credible election.
In previous elections, taxpayer-funded Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) has come under fire for biased reporting against opposition political parties and candidates.
To boost their chances in the fresh elections, of the country’s two main opposition parties last week inked an electoral pact.
The Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and UTM — which came second and third respectively in last year’s polls — signed an electoral alliance at a ceremony attended by thousands of supporters in the capital Lilongwe.
On his side, Mutharika’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) earlier announced it has partnered with United Democratic Front (UDF) led by Atupele Muluzi who has been drafted in Cabinet with other three members of his party.
Though Malawi has not yet recorded any coronavirus case, there are fears the spreading virus could threaten the staging of the fresh elections.
“The successful implementation of the election calendar will be subject to the mitigation of the impact of the coronavirus including travel embargoes and shutdown of election materials production companies,” said Ansah.
In a landmark ruling on Feberuay 3, the Constitutional Court overturned the outcome of the 21 May 2019 election, which handed President Peter Mutharika a second term in office.
The court said the poll results were fraught with widespread irregularities – in particular the “massive” use of correction fluid on tally sheets.
It ordered the holding of fresh polls within 150 days, but Mutharika is appealing the court’s ruling.
The appeal will be heard in the Supreme Court starting 15 April.
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Boom before the elections you will hear APM is incapacitated… that’s when you will realise NYENKHWE is a CAMA
The IRON LADY very educated, very strong, well focused, well rooted God fearing women she has been insulted left and right but she sits on her chair as a chairperson of MEC asking God to forgive ALL her enemies in the like of Gift Tobias Trapence, Timothy Sannibalati Mtambo, McDonald Judas Sembereka, Lazalous Yona Chakwera and Saulos Absalomu Chilima.
I know this time God has managed to fight on her behalf and ALL her enemies have been defeated completetly – Now she has drawn a new Electral Calender the new voting day being on the 02nd of July 2020 and it looks feasible and I believe no one sensible can object the Calender. If Corona Virus disrupts the initial preparations of the elecctions then it means God doesn’t want us to vote this year and better we forget about going to polls any more untill 2024.
Ansah, who should adhere to the Code of Conduct btwn U and political parties if I may ask u??
Truly your IQ is very low indeed. Please learn to be factual and not a day dreamer.
Why insisting to hang on to that position as if that is the only Job u know? Very selfish individual. Feel ashamed of yourself and your entire family which u put on spot light .
Used to eat and steal poor people taxes thats why u don’t want to leave that post. Your greediness will put u in jail one day.
M’mene mwalephelera kuchotsha Jane Ansah pa mpando wa Mec ndi m’mene mulephelere kuchotsha APM pa mpando wa dziko ,izizi zikuchitikazi ndi chizindikiro kuti mudziwe kuti HRDC/MCP/UTM ongofuna kusokoneza dziko chifukwa cha kudzimva . chisankho chapa 2019 APM anapambana mwachilungamo . M’mene munachitira inu a hrd /mcp /utm kuononga zinthu za anthu , kupha Imedi waku Mangochi Jane ndi uyo ali phee pa mpando zomwe zikutanthauza kuti inu otsutsa mulibe mphamvu yomuchotsa Jane Ansah , ngakhale Chilima saulosi atatsogolera nyimbo kuti Jane the Iron Lady Ansah achoke sizingatheke chifukwa Mulungu sanalole ,chimodimodzi APM anapambana chisankho 2019 apambananso 2020 .
I agree with you
Yambani inuyo bwana. Chokuletsani ndi chiani? Don’t use bad words to describe people. Peter Mutharika is the best head of state ever. His patience and calmness. His composure and thinking is what makes you to write such garbage. Malawians will vote shortly. Let the winning team fly . We can only have one true winner this time.
Is the chisankho on whilst coronavirus is ravaging Africa?
Zeze ndi chatsalira kusayina mgwirizano. Sitting VP become runningmate to leader of opposition. Total madness
Jane Ansa we don’t want you live our Malawi electro commission alone, we won’t allow you mess things again. You are a wizard..
This MEC. Who is gonna trust them? DPP ofcourse. For the love for Malawi can’t they sit aside and let other people run the show? After all DPP would still attempt to corrupt them like they’ve done to The Ansah gangsters. However, people might still give them the benefit of doubt. If DPP wins again ‘God forbid ‘. With this Ansah MEC, I can see CHAOS. The problem is ‘Wachikulile akamakakamila pa mpando ndiye kuti wabibilapo’. These people will do anything, even killing the same people they want to govern , to remain the ruling party. Worst still, there is AChair in the background. UDF and DPP, evil combination. They believe Malawians are STUPID, NAIVE and IDIOTS.
Why this woman is still persisting that she was going to conduct the rerun elections? Malawians, are you dumb that you let this bitch, Jane Ansah steal your votes again? It is time to match. Where is the HRDC? Did Peter Hitler Mutharika scare your pants off? You’re just chickens. In my whole life I have never seen a nation that is so afraid like Malawians. These people are docile and want someone to fight battles for them while they just stand aside and look. You’re very stupid nation and you deserve what Peter Hitler Mutharika is giving you. He has realised that even a donkey is more intelligent than the Malawian people. All what Malawians know best is to flee their country and inconvinient other people in their own countries. In South Africa Malawians have turned Johannesburg City into “KuMusika”, selling dry fish, beans, bananas, etc in the pavement. Why they don’t do these things in their own country.
Amwene inu God will punish heavily. The court did not rule that MEC rigged elections in favour of any candidate. So be careful in your comments. Court said there were irregularities in other words irregularities can always be corrected together with all relevant stakeholders thats it my friend. All who have been wishing APM and Jane to die we see leaving this world Mulungu simunthu and never shud u wish somebody die thats not being humane.
I agree with you 100% She has seen that Malawians are stupid and can listen and attend her press briefing. She has an audience
You are very stupid. Think before you label Malawians cowards. For how long have Malawians been on the street to demand that this heartless lady step down? You mean you can’t see how God has been very faithful to Malawians? We are planning of our next move (strategy) and that can not be described as being coward no!
mboli yako galu iwe
You don’t seem to understand what is here on the ground. By the look of your comment, you don’t live here.The battle on the ground is no longer physical, it is now following the legal route.Ansah is empowered by the law, acting by the same law.
You can say that again. This is a country full of passive people especially the Central and Southern regions. They always wait for the people from the Northern region to fight for them and at the end of the day, it’s them who benefit and not the people from the North. Very stupid people.