Wakuda barred from contesting
The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has disqualified presidential adviser on political and communication affairs Elias Wakuda Kamanga to contest as a Member of Parliament (MP) in Kasungu North East Constituency in the May 20 Tripartite Elections.
This follows a second legal opinion MEC sought which stated that as a presidential adviser, Kamanga, and others are public servants; hence, can only be eligible to contest as MPs after resigning from their positions before presenting nomination papers to the commission.
According to published report, MEC chief elections officer Willie Kalong said Kamanga was informed about his disqualification on Wednesday evening.
He said upon being informed about the decision, Kamanga produced a letter which indicated that he resigned from his position on February 4 and that secretary for Human Resource Management Sam Madula on February 7 accepted the resignation.
But Kalonga told The Nation that MEC had applied a second legal opinion to disqualify Kamanga who, alongside other presidential aides—the Reverend Macdonald Sembereka and Reverend Malani Mtonga, were given the go-ahead by MEC to contest.
Sembereka is vying for the Mangochi Central Constituency seat while Mtonga is contesting in the Karonga South Constituency. The trio are seeking election on governing People’s Party (PP) ticket
Legal experts argue that presidential advisers are public servants; hence, can only stand after resigning.
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