Parliament shifts Mid-Year Budget to accommodate fresh elections: No injunction for Speaker
Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Joseph Mwanamvekha will not present the Mid-Year Budget Review Statement this Friday as scheduled following Parliament decision to pave way for the Constitution Court judgement that nullififed the last May’s presidential elections and ordered fresh election within 150 days from February 2 2020.
Mwanamvekha was expcted to table his statement on Friday but will have to tweak his figure to accommodate the budget for the fresh elections said to be pegged at K48 billion.
Leader of the House, Kondwani Nakhumwa confirmed the shifting of presentation of Mid-Year Budget Review Statement, saying the order for frsh elections will affect the K1.7 trillion 2019/20 National Budget, hence the need to include the same in the supplementary budget.
Mwanamvekha sais he was ready with the Mid-Year Budget Review Statement but wanted to see how the fresh elections cost would be accommodated.
Meanwhile, the office of the Speaker of Parliament and Clerk of Parlimane have dismissed social media talk that former legislators who lost the May 21 2019 Tripartite Elections have obtained an injunction restraining Parliament from transacting any business, saying there is no such an order..
The High Court in Zomba rebuffed an ex parte application by former legislators, saying the matter is inter partes.
Judge Zione Ntaba, in a notice to the applicants dated February 10 2020, transferred the case to the Lilongwe Registry
Following nullification of the presidential election by the Constitutional Court (Concourt), ex-MPs, led by Peter Bvalani and Jessie Kabwila have argued that they lost the election due to Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC)’s incompetence.
Determining the matter, the ConCourt on February 3 2020 stated that the second respondent, MEC, demonstrated incompetence for failing to follow laid out legal processes for the conduct of the elections.
In an ex parte application for an interlocutory injunction, the ex-MPs argue that since both presidential and parliamentary polls were managed by MEC which the Concourt declared incompetent, it was fair to also nullify the parliamentary results.
It reads: “That we also believe that in the unlikely event that the parliamentary election is not nullified, it will cause constitutional crisis in observing the electoral calendar and the same is tantamount to violation of Section 67 (1) of the Constitution as the current members of Parliament will serve a period beyond five years in their respective constituencies against the will of the people of Malawi.”
“Wherefore, we humbly pray to the Honourable court for an order of injunction to restrain the 2nd Respondent, through itself or its agent and the entire National Assembly from carrying any parliamentary proceedings or activities which include but not limited to parliamentary sessions and/or parliamentary committees meetings or deliberations until determination of the court.”
Earlier, Kabwila, who contested on a UTM Party ticket in Salima North West Constituency, said the irregularities as confirmed by the five-judge panel of the ConCourt were not exclusive to the presidential race as the process run concurrently.
But lawyer Justin Dzonzi described the move by the defeated aspirants as “insane” and a vain attempt.
“They have failed to make the claim within the statutory period when they must lodge the claim. The law says they must lodge their complaint within seven days,” he said.
Posting on his Facebook page on the matter, governance expert Henry Chingaipe schooled the former MPs that on May 21 2019 Malawi held one presidential election, 193 parliamentary elections and 462 local government elections.
He argued: “Each election is independent of the other. A parliamentary election in Constituency A is independent of the parliamentary election in Constituency B. Any interdependence between them is an empirical matter. “So far, based on petitions that were filed competently, only the presidential election is proven to have been conducted shambolically as to warrant nullification.”
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Both petitioners went to the courts to ask them to nullify the presidential results not parliamentary results. Get it in your head.
That true but who asked the court to rule on restoring Chilima, who asked the court to rule on 50+1. Let us be fair. The court found EC incompentent and to have broken the law by delegating its duties. The use of constituency tally centres was also illegal. This therefore reflects on the whole elections.
Henry Chingaipe is another idiot. Wasn’t tippex used in the parliamentary elections? THe answer is yes. Therefore they need to be annulled just like the presidential elections.
This is what I thought should happen. Parliament should allocate or decide about funds not MEC. Ku MEC uchidzete akukamba za funding.
Kabwira amapanga makani titamuuza kuti dzicheptse wekha kwa President wathu wokondeka amene wabeledwa chsankho Dr Laz kuti masiku ako okhala MP ku Salima achuluka koma unasankha kuukuira bwana pano ndi izi ma lecture anzako aku CHANCO akuti this is INSANE AND A VAIN ATTEMPT. Learn to humble yourself mayi. Ngati kunali mzimayi amene ine ndimamutaila kantengo ku Congress ndinu mayi Jesse Kabwira. Koma mutayamba mtudzu ndi anthu oti sakuthandizani achina Kaliwo ndi Msowoya taonani kumene mulitsopano dzisanthuleni nokha. Ndalamazo ngatimulinazo gwiritsani ntchito moyeenera kusiyana ndikuti muonongere nkhani izi zopanda pakezi.