Desperate times call for desperate measures. After seeing that their rigging ploy is not yielding much result as MEC openly rebuffed the party’s assumptions, the Peoples Party (PP) through their lawyer Christopher Masanje went to the High Court to get an injunction stopping MEC from announcing both unofficial and official results of the country’s tripartite elections which are still in progress.

The PP also wanted the court to stop Zodiak Broadcasting Station and Malawi Broadcasting Corporation which have been credited by MEC as the official broadcasters of the election from announcing unofficial results.

However, report coming in indicates that the High Court in Blantyre has refused to grant the party the injunction. As we write, MBC and ZBS continue to air the unofficial results while electoral body MEC is yet to announce any official result.

It appears options are running out for President Joyce Banda who is trying to do whatever she can to derail the elections in which she is trailing miserably at third place.

Banda appears to be incensed by the fact that Mutharika and the DPP are leading and likely to win the elections. There is a long standing bad blood between the two.

When the late former president Bingu wa Mutharika wanted Peter to take over the party when he leaves office, Banda protested and that marked the start of the sour relationship between Banda then vice president and the Mutharikas to the extent that Banda was sidelined as Vice President of the country. She alleges that the Mutharikas and DPP persecuted her.

When Bingu died in 2012 and Peter tried to use wrong channels to usurp power from Banda who was constitutionally supposed to take over, the relationship worsened. When the plot failed, and Banda became President, she hit back at Peter indirectly. Peter has since claimed persecution in the hands of Banda.

Malawi’s politics is characterized by greed and vengeance and Banda is worried that she may face the wrath of DPP especially in the aftermath of the cash gate scam.

Malawians should pray that the President should not use her powers to reject results of the elections or declare a state of emergency. That would plunge the country in chaos.

The onus in now on MEC to expedite the electoral process and announce the results of the elections.