BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)—Despite getting legal advice from law experts former Attorney General Ralph Kasambara and Sunduzwayo Madise to refer the controversial issue of the appointment of two Commissioners of Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), Miss Linda Kunje and Mrs Jean Mathanga to the High Court for its opinion as to whether the recommendations from public Appointments Committee of Parliament were in line with the Constitution and Electoral Commission Act, President Lazarus Chakwera has proceeded with a decision to fire the duo.
According to a letter signed by Secretary to the President and Cabinet, the two Commissioners have been fired on the premise that they were adjudged incompetent by the Supreme Court of Appeal in the Presidential Elections Case.
The letter further says following the decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal, the two Commissioners’ appointment was rendered defective and did not qualify for re-appointment.
This comes just days after the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) sued the presidency for appointing four MEC commissioners and want the High Court to declare their appointment illegal.
There is already a case in court where Mathanga and Kunje sued President Chakwera and the electoral body to court demanding their appointment letters, honoraria, allowances and related benefits backdated to June 7 2020 when they were appointed.
Ironically, in August last year, Attorney General Chikosa Silungwe, who is the principal legal advisor of the government, advised government through the Secretary to the President and Cabinet Zangazanga Chikhosi to formally write appointment letters to the two.
Commissioners Mathanga and Kunje were re-appointed by former President Arthur Peter Mutharika and they were part of the MEC team that is praised for delivering a fair and credible fresh presidential election.
Meanwhile, a legal pugilism has ensued in different social media platforms with many law experts faulting the government for being “obsessed with power.”
“The problem is, if the commissioners are to sue government….the right party to be sued is the AG. In such a scenario where the AGs opinion was disregarded, how is he to defend government’s actions in court?” queried one social media user who goes by the name Agoroso.
Section 4 of the amended Electoral Commission Act of 2017 empowers parties that obtain one-tenth of the parliamentary seats submit to the President a minimum of three nominees.
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The main shareholder in Tonse administration Malawi Congress Party (MCP) has dragged President Lazarus Chakwera to court over the appointment of commissioners of the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC).
The commissioners are Arthur Nanthulu, Steve Duwa, Linda Kunje and Jean Mathanga. The four together with Dr Anthony Mukumbwa and Mrs Olivia Liwewe were appointed by the then president Peter Mutharika last year.
However, since MCP’s case is against the state president, Chakwera who is also the MCP president is the defendant and he is expected to be represented by the Office of the Attorney General.
The application for judicial review has been filed by MCP secretary general Eisenhower Mkaka through lawyer Abison Chitukula.
MCP in its application cites Section 4 of the amended Electoral Commission Act of 2017 which gives parties with one-tenth of the parliamentary seats power to submit to the President a minimum of three nominees to be appointed as MEC commissioners.
In 2020, only Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and MCP qualified to submit nominations.
However former President Mutharika appointed four commissioners nominated by the DPP while two of the three MCP nominees were appointed.
“As a qualifying political party, especially where only two political parties qualified, MCP was entitled to have all three nominees appointed, but instead the defendant (the President) appointed only two of MCP’s nominees without any reason given for rejecting the other nominee and, in contrast, appointed four for the DPP,” the application reads in part.
The ruling party wants the High Court to declare the appointment of the four DPP commissioners illegal and to order the president to appoint new commissioners.
The MCP government has also been refusing to recognize the appointment of Kunje and Mathanga saying the two were declared incompetent by the court as they were part of the commission which managed the now nullified 2019 presidential elections.
Last year, Attorney General (AG) Chikosa Silungwe told the Secretary to the President and Cabinet Zangazanga Chikhosi that maintaining the composition of the current MEC commission would be “neater and mature political pragmatism.”
But what is the interest of MCP SG Mkaka on this matter when all in all the current commissioners have carried two By-Elections? Why Mkaka is wasting hard earned taxpayers money on petty politics instead of focusing building Malawi?
The only explanation I have heard which has a teeny-weeny bit of proximity to being rational for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)’s retention of Jean Mathanga and Linda Kunje as Commissioners at the Electoral Commission is “continuity”.
In everyday conduct of business, maintaining a modicum of continuity does make sense.
Exceptions however exist. This, for instance, does not mean an organization should stick to “continuity” when the continuity means continuing corrupt practices. In such a case, the continuity militates against unlearning lousy behavior and inhibits new ways of doing things.
At any rate, continuity only works when the person(s) appointed to bridge the institutional knowledge gap have the right competences.
In MEC’s case, I posit that the unfortunate retention of Jean Mathanga and Linda Kunje is nothing short of an act of sabotage and that were this idea championed by any party other than DPP, the word Peter Mutharika would have used is “treason”.
I will however stick to sabotage.
Look at it this way: like with everything to do with the fresh presidential election, DPP wants to sabotage the new commissioners’ determination to succeed where former commissioners, disastrously led by Justice Jane Ansah, failed.
Listening to the interviews of both Jean Mathanga and Linda Kunje disgracing Parliament’s Public Appointments Committee (PAC) the other day, it was clear that these two were significant problems in the May 2019 election.
Uncooperative, evasive, taking themselves as mini gods that can make or unmake parliamentarians, refusing to be held accountable, incapable of providing lucid responses to simple questions.
I could go on and on.
All the above are undesirable competences. They are not characteristics of truthful and trustworthy people who can conduct free, fair, and credible elections.
As you all know, even before the two presented themselves to Parliament, the High Court had on February 3, 2020 duly conferred certificates of incompetence to them and their friends; a certification which was upheld if not upgraded by the highest court in the land.
Today, whenever I see these former now continuing commissioners, I take it that I am looking at publicly certified incompetents (PCIs).
It boggles the mind therefore how DPP decided that of all the DPP members, PCIs are its best contribution to the fresh election.
If this is what putting the best foot forward is in DPP’s philosophy, then I fear for Malawi because whether governing or in opposition, Malawi needs political parties capable of identifying and deploying their best talents.
Having said that, on behalf of the entire Talking Blues community, I heartily welcome Justice Chifundo Kachale.
The more astute of you will remember his name from the never-ending R v Bakili Muluzi & another, aka the MK1.7 billion case.
Based on his cool, calm, and collected chairing over that case, this far, I have only respect for the new MEC chairperson.
I hope he will make my respect last and if humanly possible, double it.
The first problem I see is that DPP has given him a poisoned chalice by soiling his commission with PCIs.
His second problem is the MEC Secretariat. Established to attend to administrative matters and support the Commissioners, it is filled to the brim with dubious characters.
For a start, the Chief Elections Officer Mr Sam Alfandika is on record for failing to provide answers to simple questions. Now, for a CEO to fail to give clear and coherent answers is unacceptable anywhere.
In court Blues Orators it means he is hiding something. Why? Because he is either afraid of self-incrimination or he wishes to protect someone, in return for something.
This is the feeling everyone got when watching Mr Alfandika giving something akin to testimony in the Constitutional Court.
With his behavior, would I allow Mr Alfandika to conduct elections at my mphakati (Church community)? Over my dead body.
Would you?
I will, therefore, be astonished if Justice Kachale fails to use his powers as Chairperson to immediately ensure that Alfandika is told in no uncertain terms to stay as far away as practically possible from anything to do with the June 23 election and indeed shown the exit door.
Save for exercising his right to vote, Alfandika should not be allowed to linger in the vicinity of MEC or at any polling station or near any electoral premises.
Only if Justice Kachale’s wants his hitherto unblemished CV to start collecting mud will he allow himself to wallow with pigs.
To put it in plain words: Honorable Justice Kachale, fire Mr Alfandika yesterday!
This is not to imply that save for Alfandika, everyone else at MEC is perfect, no. There are plenty of wolves in wolfskins at MEC. At various levels and grades. In many departments. Including criminals who for a price, will sell any election without a care.
For now, however, it is enough to send Mr Alfandika back to the labour office; the rest will be dealt with once a commission of enquiry is conducted to establish what exactly:
• Has led to Malawi taxpayers paying twice to elect a president.
• Contributed to the ill-advised decision to appeal and hire SA lawyers at an extortionate price; and
• Has robbed MEC all vestiges of credibility when MEC is supposed to carry the sacred duty akin to that of the Biblical Samuel in the days of old.
Talking of Prophet Samuel, imagine if you will that he was some compromised character, suspected of bribe-taking and a slothful fellow whose every undertaking was costing the people double or triple as much.
Further, suppose this character could not provide straight answers to the simplest of questions without copiously sweating. Would anyone has taken him seriously?
Would you have taken him seriously?
If your answer is No, then. • Why is Sam Alfandika still at the MEC? • What are we paying him for? • Whose interests is he serving? • When is the new Chairperson firing him?
I, therefore, reiterate that Mr Sam Alfandika must be fired or asked to resign with effect from last week. Yesterday is not soon enough if Malawians are to trust the outcome of June 23.
By the way, could someone let Mr Sangwani Mwafulirwa know that we are still waiting for a lucid explanation on why he couldn’t notify stakeholders in time that the plane carrying some voting materials from China would arrive earlier than scheduled?
Please also advise Mr Sangwani Mwafulirwa to inform the new Chairperson that this shady way of doing things is yet another reason why Alfandika needed to go, by last week.
Justice Chifundo Kachale (Centre): We have no desire to fail
BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)—Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) Chairperson, Justice Chifundo Kachale, has assured Malawians that their vote will be safe in the forthcoming Fresh Presidential Election (FPE), saying the new commissioners have a legacy to protect and are to deliver accordingly.
Kachale was speaking yesterday in Lilongwe during a media briefing on the electoral body’s preparedness for the much touted first ever fresh presidential election that was ordered by the Constitutional Court after nullifying the 2019 election on grounds of widespread irregularities.
Kachale said it is their wish to have the election on 23rd June though there some logistical challenges that if not well handled they might seek an extension through a legal process.
“On Tuesday 9th June 2020 the Commission took oaths before the Honourable Chief Justice in Blantyre. Later the same day we received communication from the office of the Clerk of Parliament advising that parliament had passed a Resolution appointing the 23rd June 2020 as the date for the Fresh Presidential Election. As you might well know, on the 11th of June 2020 the Commission Gazetted 23rd June 2020 as the Polling Date, subject to change on the basis of the legally established processes,” said Kachale.
On printing of ballot papers, Kachale said the Commission already issued an authority to the printer to commence performance of the assignment after it was communicated to the electoral body by the Printing company that “unless authority to commence printing was granted by close of business that day, I would not be in a position to actually make delivery of the ballots ordered in time for the Gazetted Polling Date.”
He, however, indicated that, in the context of Covid-19 pandemic, both the Commission and contesting candidates will not be able to monitor the printing process as per requirement in light of the non-availability of commercial flights and the public health requirements for a minimum of 14 days’ quarantine both at the destination of printing and upon returning home.
It was also disclosed that the Commission has a deficit of K8.7 billion as Parliament only appropriated K29.6 billion from the proposed K38.3 billion.
Initially, the budget was pegged at K34 billion but it was later adjusted upwards in order to accommodate Covid-19 preventive measures which called for more resources for procurement of materials.
Kachale bemoaned the untimely disbursement of funds from the Treasury, saying it has impacted negatively the operations of the Commission in preparing for the election.
“The disbursement of funds has been a challenge: it has not always been timely. For example, training of Presiding Officers could not start on 8th June 2020 as scheduled due to funding delays. This was then shifted to 13th June 2020 following communication from The Treasury on 8th June 2020 that funds had been provided. Though there are some persisting challenges with regards to accessing those funds arrangements have been made to allow the trainings to commerce today (13th June 2020),” he said,
Responding to a question on the inclusion of the former commissioners, Linda Kunje and Jean Mathanga, Kachale said he has confidence in all the commissioners and that they will deliver accordingly.
“It is not my jurisdiction to speak evil of my colleagues, the two old Commissioners (Kunje and Mathanga). Trust us we will deliver accordingly, we have no desire to fail. I have full confidence in my fellow 6 commissioners. Please do not drive us into history to judge us, we have no responsibility for the past events, we have the integrity and names to protect,” Kachale said.
He added: “We are professionals in our own right, we have our own legacy to protect, I believe everyone who accepted this responsibility is cognisant of the responsibility they have taken.
“This nation is functioning on levels of suspicion and mistrust that is making it impossible to do anything. Give us a chance. Do not drag us into history. Ultimately we will be responsible for our actions .”
The Chairperson further appealed to Presidential candidates in the forth coming fresh Presidential election to be advocates of peace.
BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)—The Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) says has welcomed the resignation of the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Jane Ansah, but vows to proceed with their may 28 protest to demand the resignation of all commissioners at the electoral body.
Initially, the demonstrations were meant to continue mounting pressure on Ansah to resign including all the commissioners.
But Ansah has tendered her resignation to President Peter Mutharika but she was quick to say that her decision was not based on demonstrations by the HRDC.
Speaking to Capital FM on Friday morning, HRDC senior member Billy Mayaya insisted that Commissioners should also resign and not wait for the expiry of their mandate.
Recently, one of the key commissioners Jean Mathanga told journalists that she is not incompetent as it is alleged by different quarters and insisted that she will not resign until her contract comes to an end on 15th June this year.
“The answer is I am not resigning. I will continue disseminating or discharging my duties to the end of 15th June which is a matter of few weeks from now,” she said in response to a question posed by media staffer who branded her and fellow commissioners incompetent.
“I would not to agree with you gentleman. I am not incompetent,” she added.
Meanwhile, President Peter Mutharika has accepted the resignation of Jane Ansah.
BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)—Despite the Supreme Court found the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) commissioners incompetent in management of 2019 presidential poll, one of the key commissioners Jean Mathanga has today told journalists that she is not incompetent as it is alleged by different quarters and has insisted that she will not resign until her contract comes to an end on 15th June this year.
Commissioner Mathanga made the remarks at the Crossroads Hotel in Lilongwe when she was addressing the media on some of the emerging issues in regards to the electoral body’s preparation for the forthcoming fresh presidential election.
“The answer is I am not resigning. I will continue disseminating or discharging my duties to the end of 15th June which is a matter of few weeks from now,” she said in response to a question posed by media staffer who branded her and fellow commissioners incompetent.
“I would not to agree with you gentleman. I am not incompetent,” she added.
In her presentation, Mathanga pleaded with all stakeholders to consult with the electoral body before making false allegations on social media platforms in regards to electoral issues.
“Ladies and gentlemen, in the course of the preparations for the elections, a number of issues have been raised through the media and also complaints have been filed with the commission. These issues have enjoyed media limelight, extensive coverage and commentary.
“This is why the commission in collaboration with the NRB have organized this press briefing to explain to the media how the voters’ register is constructed using the NRB database,” she said.
She added: “Ladies and gentlemen, before I conclude my speech allow me to reiterate the commitment of the commission to engage with stakeholders regarding the preparation of the elections.
“Without suppressing dissent and freedom of expression, it would be advisable if stakeholders engage the commission before making outbursts and misinformed allegations in the media. It is not in the interest of the commission to be exposing ignorance of its stakeholders on electoral issues like we will be doing. These scenarios can be avoided if there are constant consultations.”
Mathanga also reminded the general public that the commission will open all centres in councils covered in phase 4 for five days to process transfers and issue duplicate certificates from 23 to 27 May, 2020.
The councils include Nkhata Bay, Kasungu District, Kasungu Municipality, Mangochi Town, Mangochi District, Nkhotakota, Machinga, Chiradzulu and Mwanza.
The commission will also reopen all centres in councils covered in phase 1 for one day on 1 june, 2020 for people to go and process transfers.
According to Mathanga, this is because phase 1 ended with a day to go.
For Blantyre City, where centres were closed prematurely because of violence, the commission will open centres for three days from 1 to 3 June, 2020 for people to process transfers and get duplicate certificates.
MEC held the press briefing with an aim of clarifying some issues raised by political parties as the country is preparing to have fresh presidential election on a date to be announced by the electoral body.
MEC initially set July 2 for the poll but it made a u-turn few days ago saying the commission has no mandate to set date for the election, pushing the responsibility to the parliament.
The Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) on Friday attempted to clarify issues surrounding the recovery of a Biometric Registration Kit (BRK), which was recovered in Mozambique.
Mec Commissioner Responsible for Electoral Services, Jean Mathanga told the news conference that the machine in question went missing as it was being taken to Mwanza.
Mathanga said the machine was used in Kasungu in the first phase of voter registration, in Ntchisi in the second phase and Lilongwe in third phase.
“The machine was used to conduct civil registration and not voter registration. We wanted to use it in Mwanza in the fourth phase but it did not arrive. At first it was not alarming. We thought it was just misplaced somewhere and we would find it. The team was just allocated another kit so that it could be used in Mwanza,” Mathanga said.
She said the kits are normally transported in locked vans but the missing kit was transported in an open vehicle (a Tata) from the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC).
She said while Mec was looking for the kit, on September 29, the electoral body received information from Vale Logistics that the kit was found in Mozambique.
“When our technician checked the machine, we discovered that it did not have a laptop and a printer,” she said.
When asked what took the Commission long to make public the issue of the missing kit, Mathanga said the issue was reported to police.
“The police are still conducting their investigations. We will communicate to stakeholders after getting the outcome of the investigations,” Mathanga said.
She said Mec is currently treating the issue as a case of theft.
According to the Commission, although the kit is similar to the ones used in voter registration, they
Malawi breaking news and World News. News about Malawi, Malawi Business, Malawi Tourism, Malawi Politics, Malawi News, World and Africa Top News.
