PAC inquiry report submitted to President, recommends new Malawi Electoral Commission

Chairperson of the  Public Appointments Committee of Parliament, Collins Kajawa has told reporters that the  final report on the committee’s inquiry into the competency of the commissioners of the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has been sent to the President  Peter Mutharika for further action.

Kajawa said this Thursday afternoon at Parliament building in Lilongwe when he addressed journalists, following the conclusion of the inquiry the committee was conducting to establish the competency of the current MEC commissioners to conduct a fresh election as ordered by the court.

He said given  the urgency of the matter, his committee expects the Head of State to act on the recommendations that the committee has made regarding the future of the current commissioners.

“We concluded our inquiry  and the report on 18 February.  We submitted it to the State President yesterday and we believe that the president will act on the recommendations that we made,” Kajawa said.

Kajawa further said that his committee has not put any time frame on the report, saying that his committee believes the president will act on the matter accordingly.

“We have not put any time frames for the president.  Our expectation is that as the Head of State, the president will respond to the recommendations quickly, according to the rule of law and given the directions provided by the constitutional court,” Kajawa.

The Palriament’s Public Appointments Committee summoned eight of the nine current commissioners of the MEC, following an order by the Constitutional Court sitting at the high court that nullified the 21 May 2019 presidential elections results.

Eight commissioners, including the beleaguered Chairperson,  Justice Jane Ansah appeared before the committee. Only one Commissioner failed to appear before the committee as he was reportedly taken ill at the time of hearing.

The commissioners to be fired include Mary Nkosi, Elvey Mtafu, Moffat Banda, Yahaya M’madi, Linda Kunje and Jean Mathanga.

Other commissioners facing the chop include the Reverent Clifford Baloyi and the Reverend Killion Mgawi.