LILONGWE, Maravipost: Malawi Electoral Commission Chairperson Jane Ansah says she will wait until President Peter Mutharika assents to the newly passed electoral reform bills for them to be applied in the forthcoming polls.
As usual Jane Ansah was strong and unperturbed by the noise from ConCourt, Supreme Court of appeal and definitely not from HRDC and its sponsors MCP and UTM.
The Chairperson Dr Jane Ansah Sc says She will respect the law of the country (The Constitution) which has not been amended and not a bill passed in Parliament by MCP supporters.
Dr Ansah was speaking to the media in Blantyre on Friday alongside with Mec Commissioners.
She said according to our unamended Constitution next elections will take place in 2024.
On the costs of hiring lawyers from South Africa, Dr. Ansah says democracy is not cheap. She says they are the same costs the Attorney General was getting when he was representing the Commission in the Election Case.
MEC Chairperson, Justice Dr. Jane Ansah, was giving a report to the National Elections Consultative Forum #NECOF in Blantyre ahead of the forthcoming fresh presidential poll.
GI Ansah was reading out the report and said the #NECOF will do a post mortem of the nullified election after the fresh presidential poll.
MEC chairperson Jane Ansah has told National Elections Consultative Forum (NECOF) meeting in Blantyre the commission will respect the Constitutional Court ruling to hold fresh elections within 150 days.
- Dr. Ansah said MEC is preparing for the fresh elections using the same legal frameworks that were used during the 2019 nullified polls since the parliament amended electoral bills are yet to be made laws.
- MEC will accept all proofs of identification under the current law during voter registration since the bill to limit identification proof to a national ID only is yet to be made a law, said Jane. On majority interpretation, GI Jane said the current law does not allow for a run-off; making it confusing on how to declare winner in the fresh presdiential election. She said the commission has started preparing for the fresh elections to be held on May 19.
She said so far, #MEC has already recruited BVRJ technicians who have serviced computers to be used in the polling process.
Warehouses are also being cleared for space to be used in the fresh poll.
- Dr. Ansah has called on #NECOF members to verify with the Commission any information in the era of fake news.
- On the costs of hiring lawyers from South Africa, Dr. Ansah said democracy is not cheap.
She said they are the same costs the Attorney General was getting when he was representing the Commission in the Elections Case.
