Visibly angry President Lazarus Chakwera on Wednesday summoned Attorney General Chikosa Silungwe hours after the Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) saga.
The meeting came after MEC said with the advice from the Attorney General – government chief legal advisor – that following government’s decision to rescind the appointment of two Commissioners of the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), Jean Mathanga and Linda Kunje, the commission can no longer discharge its duties..
Attorney General advised that MEC cannot continue to implement its activities as it has no legal authority or basis until Section 75 (1) of the Constitution has been complied with.
Section 75 (1) of the Constitution stipulates that there shall be an Electoral Commission which shall consist of a Chairman who shall be a Judge nominated in that behalf by the Judicial Service Commission and such other members, not being less than six, as may be appointed in accordance with an Act of Parliament.
The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has handed over to Parliament of Malawi used election materials from the by-elections that were held on 30th March, 2021 in seven constituencies.
Section 119 of the Parliamentary and Presidential Elections Act mandates the Clerk of Parliament to safely store used election materials for a period of 12 months after the election.
In his remarks at the handover ceremony, the MEC chairperson, Justice Dr. Chifundo Kachale said the ballot materials includes voter registers, ballot papers, records from council areas and polling stations and summaries of the results.
“The Malawi Electoral Commission believes it is important to work together to make sure that transparency and accountability remain top priority with each election and the handover of these records allows the commission to achieve that,” Justice Kachale said.
THINDWA: Voter apathy is a worldwide problem
A chancellor college based political analyst Ernest Thindwa has warned that voter apathy will continue to mar by-elections as alot of electorates focus much on presidential elections.
The remarks follows low turnout of voters during the just ended March 30 parliamentary and local government by-elections.
In an interview Thindwa said any elections held without presidential elections will continue attracting low turnout of voters.
“Voter apathy during parliamentary and local government by-elections its a worldwide problem as more electorates focus much on the bigger prize( the presidency)”.
“Even as a country if we invest more in campaigning and voter civic education we won’t register a bigger change in terms of a higher turn out of voters during by-elections,” added Thindwa.
January 28, 2021 Justice Dr. Chifundo Kachale 31 Comments
Introduction: a grim catalogue of grief and loss
So today we were expected to receive the remains of our brother Benjamin Kachale and his wife Futhi at Chileka Airport; but due to some logistical hitches we have to wait till Friday the 29th January. This double funeral marks the culmination of the most distressing 10 days I have so far known in my rather brief sojourn on earth. If I kept a daily diary it would make the most morbid reading: on Monday 18th January 2021 we got the sad news in the morning that our brother-in-law Evangelist Stephen Lungu had succumbed to covid after a rather gallant fight. According to the public health protocols we had to arrange for his burial that same day.
Malawi: ConCourt Judges, MEC Chair Kachale Jointly Named Nyasa Times Person of the Year 2020 allafrica.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from allafrica.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.