LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The Malawi Law Commission (MLC) on Monday, endorsed the 50+1 system for electing the Head of State and Government.

The Commission’s endorsement comes barely three months after the Special Law Commission on the review report of Electoral Law, recommends drastic changes to how general elections should be handled. The recommendation is a sharp departure from the 1994 First-Past-the-Post” (FPTP) provision. The 50+1 system advances that for electing Presidents, a candidate to be declared the winner, he or she must acquire 50+1 percent of the total votes cast.

Chairperson of the Special Law Commission Justice Anthony Kamanga, said that Parliament will amend Section 80 (2) of the Constitution and Section 96 (5) of the Parliamentary and Presidential Elections (PPE) Act; this would effect the necessary changes of the electoral system from the current simple majority to the 50 plus one percent electoral model.

Kamanga said the Special Commission unanimously agreed with the 50 percent plus 1 system, and that the possibility of a second round of voting where the first round fails to produce a clear candidate, a run-off would be an ideal option.

He added that where no majority is obtained by any presidential candidate in the first poll, a run-off would be held, in which two presidential candidates who obtained the two higher number of valid votes cast, would be the only eligible candidates in the run-off.

In its final report the Special Law Commission, reviewed the present clause that allows the election of the president through “first-past-the post” mode, is embroiled with challenges regarding the legitimacy of the winner who sometimes gets less than 50% of the total votes cast.

The Commission also recommends that there should be the minimum educational qualifications clause for persons seeking elective office; the current law does not provide this type of yardstick; it only requires a candidate read and speak English, and be 35 years in age for the presidential election category.

The report recommends that presidential candidates and their running mates should possess at minimum, a first degree or its equivalent from a recognized or accredited tertiary institution.

The Special Law Commission also proposed that for candidates desiring to participate in Parliamentary and local councils elections, a Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) is a requisite qualifying level; and candidates should be able to comfortably read and speak in English.

The report further proposes special parliamentary seats for women in each district in the country. This provision is to ensure that women occupy a certain minimum number of seats in the National Assembly.

The Special Commission also recommends that a 30-day transition period after the election should be observed before the next President and Vice President, are sworn in after the elections.

Lastly, the Special Law Commission, consolidate and harmonize all electoral laws to ensure that they speak the same language. To this end, the Special Commission introduced six bills that include the Constitution (Amendment), the Electoral Commission (Amendment), the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections, the Elections Management Fund, and the Assumption of the Office of President of Referendum.

Since 1994 the FPTP electoral system has been used for the selection of the country’s President, Members of Parliament (MPs) and ward councilors.

Under these rules, the candidate on the ballot who gets the most votes has been duly elected.