BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)—Drama continues at the Mount Soche Hotel where presidential hopefuls are presenting their nomination papers ahead of the fresh presidential election with the latest rejection of Smart Swira’s nomination papers by Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) due to some flaws on his nomination papers.
Swira, who is an independent candidate, has not satisfied the K2 million requirement and also failed to produce evidence of ten signatures from each district vetting him for the number one job in the country.
According to MEC spokesperson Sangwani Mwafulirwa, Swira has up to 4pm today to rectify the flaws if he has to be admitted as one of the presidential candidates.
This is the second time Swira had tried to stand as independent candidate but has not fulfilled the requirements.
Reports indicate that his children recently wrote MEC not to allow him to present nomination papers on medical grounds.
In a related development, another independent candidate Phunziro Mvula has given up the race for the highest office in the country, saying he cannot contest in an election conducted by the current crop of commissioners at the electoral body.
Mvula, whose nomination papers did not even meet the basic requirements for a Presidential candidate, told journalists at Mount Soche Hotel in Blantyre that he has instead endorsed the candidature of Lazarus Chakwera and his running mate Saulos Chilima.
Hardwick Kaliya, independent Presidential candidate also announced his decision to pull out of the race yesterday.
Kaliya has also endorsed Lazarus Chakwera who is the torchbearer of the MCP-UTM alliance.
