Former Vice President Dr. Saulos Chilima has asked United Transformation Movement (UTM) party members to stay at home and listen to the court judgment on radio.
Chilima said this during a media briefing in the capital Lilongwe on Thursday where he called upon Malawians to remain calm as the constitutional court is scheduled deliver its ruling on the May 21 polls on Monday.
He said Malawi is known for being a peaceful nation, a legacy that needs to be maintained.
“My fellow Malawians, we must, as a nation, continue to engage on how people’s right to protest can be exercised while, as the same time, maintaining law and order and protecting the sanctity of life and everybody’s right to hold property. It is a not a binary choice to be made. It is a balance we must strike if we are to maintain our aspirations as a plural democracy. Always remember that with Human Rights come obligations.
“Indeed, as we wait for the judgment of the Constitutional Court, we must remind ourselves of the choice we made to resolve our differences, no matter how bitter, through peaceful means. That is why the revered institution of the Judiciary exists. That institution together with the laws and traditions that anchor its dispute resolution processes exist primarily to curb our primal instincts to resolve our differences through internecine violence and street fights. We must, therefore, defer to the learned judges to guide us through these trying times,” said Chilima.
MCP and UTM are seeking nullification of the May 21 polls where President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika was declared winner.
