High Court grants Mec stay order to continue electoral process

The High Court in Blantyre Saturday evening gave Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) the go ahead to continue counting votes and announcing results of the May 20 Tripartite Elections, effectively cancelling President Joyce Banda’s earlier decision to nullify the electoral process.
The development came after two sets of lawyers, one representing the Malawi Law Society and Mec and the other representing Democratic Progressive Party’s Presidential candidate Peter Mutharika, challenged the President’s decision at the High Court.
One of the lawyers representing Mutharika, Kalekeni Kaphale said that the decision means that the electoral body can go ahead with its mandate of administering the elections.
“Justice Kenyatta Nyirenda has granted us leave to apply for judicial review and also granted a stay order against the President’s decision to nullify the elections,” Kaphale told Journalists.
Asked whether the President has been served with the court order, Kaphale said they would serve the order on the President through Zodiak Broadcasting Station and MBC.
He also said they would publish the order in the print media namely Nation Publications and Blantyre Newspapers Limited.
Malawi Law Society team had lawyers John Gift Mwakhwawa and Noel Chalamanda among others.
President Banda, quoting Section 88(2) of the Malawi Constitution which stipulates that the President shall provide executive leadership in the interest of national unity in accordance with this Constitution and the laws of the Republic, said she had called for the nullification of the electoral process.
She said in light of this section, it is her duty to protect Malawians after noting that the electoral process had been marred by irregularities.
Banda called for nullification of the electoral process and postponement of the elections for a period of 90 days and further said that she would not contest in the fresh elections.
(BNLTimes)