By Linda Kwanjana
Through a calculated bureaucratic war of attrition designed to break the backbone of Malawi’s electoral referee (MEC), Malawi’s democracy is quietly being choked.
At the center of this storm is the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) and its Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Andrew Mpesi, a man who currently finds himself in the crosshairs of a ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government that seems utterly determined to clear the board and install submissive puppets ahead of future polls.
To understand how we got here, one only has to look back a few months. In October last year, the presidency issued Executive Order No. 01 of 2025, a sudden directive demanding that MEC pack up its Lilongwe headquarters and relocate to Blantyre within three months.
MEC had intentionally moved to Lilongwe to be near Parliament, ministries, and the justice sector, reducing massive operational costs, according to former MEC Chair, Justice Chifundo Kachale. And, of course, stakeholders added their perspective: the centrality of Lilongwe matters.
Facing the Executive Order, MEC, through its CEO, bravely fought back. Citing Section 76(4) of the Constitution and Section 6(1)(f) of the MEC Act, the Commission rightly argued that the executive has absolutely no legal right to dictate its operational location.
When the DPP’s relocation trap failed to compromise the commission, the tactics shifted from institutional pressure to personal harassment. Enter the shocking, highly selective arrest of Andrew Mpesi in late February this year. Mpesi was thrown into a police cell for two days over allegations that he committed “abuse of office” by allowing his official vehicle to be driven by a family member—a minor administrative matter that his defense counsel easily noted is governed entirely by standard internal conditions of service.
If Mpesi is being forced out or has resigned under this orchestrated duress, the DPP will have successfully executed a textbook capture of our electoral system. The law provides a very clear roadmap for how the country must respond to prevent this dangerous precedent.
The Commission must stand firm. Under the Electoral Commission Act, the President has no power to fire or appoint the CEO; only the Commission itself can accept a resignation, appoint an acting chief, and formally declare whether the process was tainted by executive bullying.
Parliament must investigate. While Section 75(4) stops the President from unilaterally removing commissioners without the Public Appointments Committee (PAC), Parliament must use its oversight powers to probe this blatant interference in MEC’s secretariat. PAC hearings must expose this coercion to the public.
Judicial review: just as MEC bravely challenged the Blantyre relocation order, the High Court must be approached to rule decisively on whether this targeted state harassment violates the operational autonomy guaranteed under Section 76(4). If the Commission, Parliament, and civil society remain silent, we are quietly writing the obituary of fair elections in Malawi.
