… planning demonstrations if not removed
by iElections reporter
Political drama is set to spill into the streets as opposition parties plan mass protests to press for the removal of Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) Chairperson Judge Annabel Mtalimanja and Chief Elections Officer Andrew Mpesi.
The call for Mtalimanja and Mpesi to go has been joined by the civic group Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) which has called the MEC under the two as operating with “unprecedented levels of impunity and arrogance” against the stakeholders.
The two are accused of creating a registration mess that has seen less than 30% of voters register, operating as agents of the ruling Malawi Congress Party (MCP), failing to comply with a court order to have the National Registration Bureau register all eligible voters at all registration centres and engaging a “suspicious” Smartmatic to manage the elections.
“We demand that you Justice Annabel Mtalimanja must step down with immediate effect because of your compromised status. In the same vein the Chief Elections Officer for MEC must resign with immediate effect,” reads a 7-point letter from the opposition Alliance for Democracy (Aford), Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), United Democratic Front (UDF) and the UTM.
In their statement issued on Thursday, the parties said that it was “wholesomely sickening” to see how MEC was undermining issues being raised by the parties demanding that Smartmatic and the second phase of voter registration be postponed.
“We demand that MEC should assure Malawians that the entire electoral process, all votes and results for the 2025 elections will be managed, counted and transmitted manually as was the case with the process leading to the 2020 polls with no alternatives or excuse at all,” said the parties Secretary Generals Linda Limbe of Aford, Peter Mukhito (DPP), Patricia Kaliati for UTM and Genarino Lemani for the UDF.
Namiwa on his part repeated the same calls. They both did not say what action they would take after the end of the ultimatum on Wednesday 13th November 2024.
None of the parties could confirm or deny planning for mass protests, saying “lets cross the bridge when we reach it.”
If demonstrations are called, with the current fuel, food and economic crisis, they could end up being a referendum against President Lazarus Chakwera’s regime which is hugely unpopular and has failed to manage the economy. Latest polls indicate the President only has 10% trust in handling of the economy.
Most Malawians have shied away from registering.
