PAC to go back to HRDC, opposition after meeting President Mutharika

Public Affairs Committee (PAC) says it is set for another  phase of dialogue meetings with various stakeholders in the post-election impasse to get their input after meeting with President Peter Mutharika on Monday.

The quasi-religious grouping gave Mutharika feedback on its  dialogue meetings with some key stakeholders during the May 21 2019 Tripartite Elections.

They briefed Mutharika on the grouping’s mediation team engagement with  the leadership of Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC), UTM Party and Malawi Congress Party (MCP).

The President shared his views during their meeting.

Presidential press secretary Mgeme Kalilani said it was a “fruitful” meeting but could not give details and PAC executive director Robert Phiri said the grouping will embark on another round of talks with stakeholders.

Last time PAC met Mutharika on the mediation, they came up with a similar way forward.

PAC is initiating a dialogue session over the electoral dispute in which Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president Lazarus Chakwera and UTM leader Saulos Chilima are challenging the May 21 2019 presidential election results in court.

They want the court to nullify the results because they believe it was manipulated in favour of President Mutharika who was declared winner with slightly above 1.8 million

Earlier, when they met other stakeholders, the leadership of HRDC and UTM advised the PAC mediation team, which is chaired by Archbishop Thomas Msusa of the Catholic Church Archdiocese of Blantyre, to meet Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Jane Ansah to hear her views on the current political situation.

HRDC is demanding the head of Ansah for allegedly presiding over a flawed electoral process in the May 21 2019 Tripartite Elections.

The quasi-religious body commenced its initiative of conflict management prior to announcement of the May 2019 elections results when it met leadership of UTM and MCP to hear their thoughts on the electoral challenges.

After announcement of the results, the organisation first engaged Mutharika over the country’s state of affairs followed by meetings with HRDC, MCP president Lazarus Chakwera, UTM Party leader Saulos Chilima, and finally Ansah.

The PAC mediation team comprises Msusa from the Episcopal Conference of Malawi as team leader,  Sheikh Ali Kennedy from the Muslim Association of Malawi and Pastor Towera Masiku from Evangelical Association of Malawi.

Others include Sheikh Amir JafaarKawinga of Quadria Muslim Association of Malawi, Malawi Council of Churches’ Bishop Gilford Matoga and Robert Phiri who is also the team’s secretary.