The High Court in Blantyre has adjourned a case in which Malawi Congress Party (MCP) aspirant in the 21st May tripartite elections Gerald Kazembe is moving the court to nullify the elections results and order a re-run in Mangochi MonkeyBay constituency in which the electoral body declared Ralph Jooma as the winner.
The petitioner, Kazembe, filed in court is challenging the results on the ground that the Malawi electoral election handed victory to Ralph Jooma based on heavily ‘Tippexed tally sheets” whose total figures vis-à-vis the electoral body’s figures of voters prior to election do not add up signifying electoral fraud.
The case was supposed to go for full hearing on Thursday but the High Court adjourned the case to August 5, 2019. The presiding Judge Maclean Kamwambe pointed out that Jooma applied to the High Court to join the case. Again, Presiding Officers from the constituency failed to appear in court to be cross examined by Hon Kazembe’s lawyers for what MEC claim to be logistical reasons. MEC lawyers, it was revealed, that they asked for more time for its CEO, Sam Alfundika, to answer questions from Gerald Kazembe’s legal team.
However, Judge Kamwambe stressed that 5th August is the date when the hearing will start unconditionally arguing he will not tolerate any delays in the process reminding lawyers from both sides on the need to dispose of electoral matters quickly.
Meanwhile, 3 MCP MPs in Chikwawa and Nsanje are waiting for a date from the High Court when hearing of their cases will start. Their case is similar to that of Kazembe. They are challenging Mcheka Chilenje and Francis Kasaila both from DPP and another UDF MP. The MCP Mps claim in their petitions that the victory of their opponents was obtained via heavily tippexed result sheets.
Malawi is currently on a standstill following the high stakes electoral case where Malawi Congress Party and UTM presidential candidates lodged to the constitutional court to declare the Presidential result invalid and order a re-run. Mass peaceful demonstrations which turned violent since Peter Mutharika was declared President have made the country ungovernable. More protests to force the electoral body chairperson, Jane Ansah, to resign have been lined up to resume starting tomorrow.
Source : Malawi Watchdog
