Reported by Morton Sibale

Lilongwe, February 20, 2020: Chairperson of the Public Appointments Committee of Parliament, Collins Kajawa has told reporters that the final report on the committee’s inquiry into the competency of the commissioners of the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has been sent to the president for further action.

Kajawa said this Thursday afternoon at Parliament building in Lilongwe when he addressed journalists, following the conclusion of the inquiry the committee was conducting to establish the competency of the current MEC commissioners to conduct a fresh election as ordered by the court.

Kajawa said given the urgency of the matter, his committee expects the Head of State to act on the recommendations that the committee has made regarding the future of the current commissioners.

“We concluded our inquiry and the report on 18 February. We submitted it to the State President yesterday and we believe that the president will act on the recommendations that we made,” Kajawa said.

Kajawa further said that his committee has not put any time frame on the report, saying that his committee believes the president will act on the matter accordingly.

“We have not put any time frames for the president. Our expectation is that as the Head of State, the president will respond to the recommendations quickly, according to the rule of law and given the directions provided by the constitutional court,” Kajawa.

The Public Appointments Committee summoned eight of the nine current commissioners of the Malawi Electoral Commission, following an order by the constitutional court sitting at the high court that nullified the 21 May 2019 presidential elections results.

Eight commissioners, including the Chairperson, Justice Jane Ansah appeared before the committee. Only one Commissioner failed to appear before the committee as he was reportedly taken ill at the time of hearing.