By Burnett Munthali
The legal battle between Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Alfred Gangata and Malawi Congress Party (MCP) candidate George Zulu over the closely contested Lilongwe City Mtandire-Mtsiriza Constituency parliamentary election has been put on hold, with the High Court suspending proceedings pending a decision by the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal.
The dispute follows the September 16, 2025 parliamentary election, in which Gangata was declared the winner after securing 12,369 votes against Zulu’s 12,360, giving him a narrow nine-vote margin.
Alfred Gangata
Justice William Yakuwawa Msiska granted Gangata’s application to stay proceedings after he appealed against an earlier High Court decision that allowed Zulu’s election petition to proceed.
Zulu’s lawyer, Wanangwa Munkhondia, confirmed that the court considered the possibility of prejudice to Gangata if the petition continued while his appeal was still before the Supreme Court of Appeal.
The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) declared Gangata the winner on November 20, 2025, following earlier court proceedings.
Zulu subsequently challenged the result, citing alleged discrepancies in the handling and tallying of electoral materials and asking the court to grant legal remedies over the disputed election outcome.
Munkhondia said the future of the High Court petition will depend on the Supreme Court of Appeal’s determination of Gangata’s appeal.
The Malawi Judiciary has also published a case summary under the title “Gangata vs Zulu & MEC Case Summary”, confirming the matter as part of its electoral case records.
The substantive hearing of Zulu’s election petition will remain suspended until the Supreme Court of Appeal determines Gangata’s appeal.
