Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) top officials have been sent on force leave with immediate effect following an Audit report carried out by the Central Internal Audit Unit of the Ministry of Finance exposing fraud at the electoral body.

This has been disclosed in a press statement released on Wednesday made available to FaceofMalawi signed by Commissioner Linda Kalinde.

MEC officials sent on leave includes; Mr Willie Kalonga – Chief Elections Officer, his Deputy Mr Harris Potani, Director of Administration and Human Resources George Khaki and Director of Finance Khumbo Phiri.

Others are Procurement Manager Edington Chilapondwa, Procurement Officer Chimwemwe Kamala, and her assistant Sydney Ndembe.

According to the statement, the officials have been sent on leave to pave way for the Audit Team set up to review the audit responses presented by the Commission to be able to do its work without any undue influence.

“It is envisaged that the Audit Team will complete its work within a short period and the Commission will at that point make known to the public the outcome of the review and the action that it will take.

“The Commission would like to assure all stakeholders that it is committed to ensuring that its operations adhere to all legal, public and international standards hence the need for engaging this independent Audit Team,” reads the statement in part.

Ministry of Finance yesterday disclosed that it has withdrawn funding to the electoral body for Mchinji West by-elections due to the mismanagement funds.