Vice President Saulos Chilima has backed Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Jane Ansah’s decision not to resign.
Chilima who is also leader of the UTM says Ansah should be allowed to lead the electoral body during the 2019 elections.
Some political parties in the country demanded Ansah’s resignation after a missing voter registration kit was found in Mozambique.
Ansah defied the calls saying the she had explained the issue and it did not warrant such action.
Chilima on Saturday came to the defence of Ansah and advised her not to heed to the resignation calls.
“To MEC chairperson wherever you are, do not resign. We are only remaining with six months before the elections so you should continue leading MEC,” said Chilima.
He was speaking at Chule Primary School Ground during UTM’s first rally since it became a registered political party.
Chilima said some parties want to replace Ansah with a weak chairperson who will be doing what they say.
The UTM leader reminded the parties that Ansah has already assured Malawians that the 2019 elections will not be rigged and he warned against pressuring the MEC chair to step down.
During his speech, Chilima also repeated his claim that no one will be able to rig the polls.
In September, a biometric kit went missing while being transported in a Office of President and Cabinet (OPC) Tata truck which was expected to deliver the kit in Mwanza. It was found on September 29th in Mozambique on a coal train.
This led to calls for Ansah to resign as some political parties said the kit was stolen by people who wanted to use the information in it to rig the 2019 Tripartite Elections.
