Malawi Supreme court upholds Nullification of Elections results

The Malawis highest court, the Supreme Court of Appeal, today delivered its ruling on an appeal by President Peter Mutharika and the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) on the disputed May 2019 presidential elections. The Constitutional Court in February nullified the 2019 elections which saw Mutharika narrowly re-elected citing irregularities.

The panel of judges in the case comprises Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda, Justice Rezine Mzikamanda, Justice Edward Twea, Justice Anaclet Chipeta, Justice Lovemore Chikopa, Justice Frank Edgar Kapanda and Justice Anthony Kamanga delivered the judgement in Lilongwe and described it as a “unanimous decision”

The Supreme Court has ordered a new presidential elections should proceed as ordered by the ConCourt but using the 2019 voters roll.

And only presidential elections who competed in 2019 are eligible to compete in the rerun.

“Elections defines lifeline and roadmap of the society,” said the Chief Justice reading a judgement which he said might carry some typos and errors but will be perfected later.

“We should therefore avoid at any cost ushering leadership through the process that is fraud because chances are that such a process will not reflect the will of the people,” he said.

chilima chakwera
Chilima and Chakwera at the court hearing

MEC and President Mutharika of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) challenged the February 3 2020 judgement of the five-judge panel of the High Court of Malawi sitting as the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) which nullified the presidential election, citing irregularities in the results management system.

The Supreme Court has also upheld the decision of the lower court which reverted the presidency—including the Office of the Vice-President—to the May 2014 election status of Mutharika as President and Chilima as Vice-President.

DPP secretary General Grezeder Geoffrey was also at the hearing