Opposition cry foul on DPP victory in Karonga: ‘Mistakes on results sheet were deliberate’

Controversy erupted on Tuesday night in Karonga the northern border part of Malawi during the unofficial announcement of local by-election results of Nkhwawa ward at the tally centre where some members of Malawi Congress party (MCP) and Peoples Party (PP) suspected the results to have been doctored as the results sheet had some anomalies.

The two parties were wondering why Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) officers who were at the polling centres brought the result forms with invalid contents such as signatories of some monitors.

According to the MCP district chairperson Emmanuel Khoma, MEC presiding Officers were not serious in filling the results form, claiming that the mistakes which have occurred are deliberate.

“It cannot be possible that the electoral body officials are coming here at the tally centre presenting the results without some valid information such as monitors signatures, no number of people who have casted their votes even the ballot papers they received at their poling centre as recommended,“ lamented Khoma.

“What does this imply to us as party officials? We can only conclude that MEC was not prepared in conducting this election or maybe they are just here to blindfold us that people have voted while they already have the winner in their mind, above all the MEC officials are coming here without any party monitors,” he added.

Concurring with Khoma, PP District Director of Elections Shambon Mchizi confronted the presiding Officers that they were threatening some monitors not be active in doing their work.

“I visited some of the polling centres monitors where complaining that they are being threatened by some officials hence most they were not involved in confirming the results,” said Mchizi.

Responding to the parties concerns the MEC commissioner Nancy Tembo apologized for the mistakes but described them as minor.

“Indeed our officials of Nkhwawa and Chankholombe polling centres forget to complete filling the result forms with some necessary information but what I can tell you is that those mistakes are minor ones a,” said Tembo.

Tembo blamed the party Officials for selecting monitors which were ignorant on most of the electoral process.

However, when results were announced indicating that Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Bydon Msiska had polled 1378 votes followed by PP candidate Langford Kanyimbo with 1107, AFORD 587, MCP 446, UDF 23 and Independent with 45 votes all parties left the premises only DPP members were present missing other members to sign the results as witnesses.

Nkhwawa ward had 11076 people who were expected to cast votes, but only 3616 turned up while 37 were null and void presenting 32.62949 percent of the electoral process.

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