Malawi:President's Election Nullification Cause Constitutional Setback

By Staff Writer

Malawi stares at a constitutional crisis after electoral authorities on Sunday said ballot boxes will be opened, due to the incriminating evidence of irregularities found, as the country finds itself at cross roads over the shambled disputed poll.

These comes hours after President Joyce Banda, on Saturday cancelled the elections citing fraud and "rampant irregularities", a decision that triggered protests in Limbe outside Blantyre, drawing backlash from the national electoral authority and  political rival.

"I, Dr. Joyce Banda, President of the Republic of Malawi, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 88 (2) of the Constitution, hereby issue this Proclamation nullifying all on-going processes in relation to the 2014 Tripartite Elections," Banda said in her address to the press.

Banda, who was running for re- election, ordered a new vote within 90 days but exempted herself from the re-run as a candidate to guarantee a credible outcome.

Malawi's Electoral Commission (MEC) and one of her main rivals for the presidency, who was leading in the vote count so far, contested the annulment announcement, saying she did not have the constitutional power to do so.

The announcement was dealt a blow when Malawi's high court issued an injunction just hours after it was issued, preventing the president from annulling the poll.

"In the process of vote tallying, there were cases being discovered where the total number of votes cast was more than the total registered voters at the centre," Malawi Electoral Commission Chairman, Justice Maxon Mbendera, said in a statement.

"It is a decision that has been agreed upon with political parties that this be resolved by opening the ballot boxes and doing a physical audit," he said.

Justice Mbendera told news wire AFP that in four districts vote numbers did not appear to match the voting register.

He said despite the findings, his staff "will not abandon the current vote counting exercise".

"This will be pursued to the end but the results will not be announced until the vote recount outcome is known and compared with," he said.

Mrs. Banda alleged that people had voted multiple times, ballots had been tampered with, presiding officers arrested, and the computerized voter counting system collapsed, but her main rival Peter Mutharika called the decision to annul the election "illegal".

Banda's People's Party spokesman Ken Msonga, told AFP: "We have been vindicated as a party. Malawians will definitely know the truth now. We are still in the game after the recount."

Nicholas Dausi, a spokesman of Peter Mutharika's Democratic Progressive Party, told AFP they will dispute the vote recount.

"There is no security and safety of the ballot boxes," he said.

With about a third of the votes counted, Mr Mutharika, had 42 per cent of the votes, while Banda has 23 per cent, according to preliminary results announced by the electoral commission late on Friday.

On Saturday he did not claim victory but had a message for Banda, "people have spoken and this was a free and credible election".

 "There is no legal basis for stopping the election. We are just making fools out of ourselves and the sooner it ends, the better for us," Mutharika said during a news conference, as his supporters took to the streets in Limbe.

"I appeal to the President to ask people to be calm and I hope she abandons the path she is taking because we don't need to take this country on the path of violence," he added.

Dispute over constitutional powers, Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairman Justice Maxon Mbendera also challenged Banda’s move, saying only the electoral authority had the legal power to make the call.