Rumphi holds Friday peaceful demos demanding Ansah to resign

People in Rumphi were on Friday  holding peaceful demonstrations demanding the resignation of Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Jane Ansah for allegedly mishandling the May 21 Tripartite Elections, having postponed them yesterday.

Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) officials in the district, organisers of the demonstrations say the protests were postponed on Thursday because it was market day.

“We did not want to disrupt business yesterday,” said one of the protest organisers.

Thousands of people took to the streets buoyed by the successful similar protests across the country on Thursday.

They chanted songs demeaning authorities and called for the resignation of Ansah as they marched.

The protests were largely peaceful as the protesters marched to present their petition to district council offices.

In Mchinji on Thursday, protesters failed to present their petition to council authorities because they did not have the petition whilst in Salima the protests went on into the night as some protesters harassed motorists.

Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) have said they would hold another round of demonstrations next week Tuesday and Thursday.

Ansah is on record as having said she would only step down if found in the wrong by the Constitutional Court currently hearing a petition seeking the nullification of the presidential election results over alleged irregularities.