Malawi electoral Commission (MEC) Commissioner Clifford Baloyi has stressed that the electoral body is competent as the elections were free and fair.

Baloyi said this yesterday when he appeared before the Parliament Appointment Committee to be assessed of his competence regarding of the role he prayed in the nullified May 21, 2019 presidential elections.

In his explanation Baloyi said the use of correctional fluid Tipp-Ex did not affect the results and that the elections were not marred with irregularities as claimed by other parties.

“The elections were free and fair and the use of tippex did not affect the results,” said Baloyi.

He further added that he was surprised with the ruling given by the Constitutional Court which nullified the presidential elections.

“I was very surprised with the Constitutional Court Judgement on 3 February which nullified the 21 May presidential elections results saying MEC did not manage the elections properly. I was very surprised because we as MEC we run a satisfactory, free and fair elections”, Baloyi said.

During the hearing, Baloyi confirmed that some ballot papers were printed locally but was not aware who printed the ballot papers

The Public Appointments Committee of Parliament has been meeting with MEC commissioners starting from last week to inquire into their competence in managing elections.

On Tuesday, the hearing was stopped for a few minutes due to misunderstanding that erupted between PAC members as some wanted the committee to come up with a verdict on last week’s hearing before interviewing Baloyi.