Court reserves ruling on Malawi election injunction

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The High Court has reserved its ruling to a later date on the injunction which Malawi Congress Party (MCP) obtained stopping Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) from announcing results of the elections.

After hearing arguments from concerned parties, Justice Charles Mkandawire failed to deliver his ruling saying he will do it after a reasonable period.

People cast their votes in Mzuzu

MEC Lawyer David Matumika Banda told journalists in Lilongwe that (MEC) is still tied with the stay order and cannot release results of the presidential elections.

MEC chairperson Jane Ansah has also told the media that the commission will only release results after the injunction is vacated.

The last official results MEC released after counting votes from 75 percent of polling centres showed that Mutharika was leading with 40.9 percent while Chakwera of the MCP had 35.44 percent of the vote.

MCP obtained the court order yesterday there were irregularities in Mangochi, Nkhatabay, Nsanje, Chikwawa, Mulanje, Rumphi, Chitipa, Zomba and Blantyre districts.

MCP spokesperson Eisenhower Mkaka told Reuters they turned to the courts because of “very glaring irregularities” noticed on result sheets turned in from polling stations.

He added that some documents showed “the same handwriting coming from different polling stations which are miles apart,” he said, adding there was “a lot of tippexing”.

He said: “What we are seeing is a fraudulent election, the result has been tampered with.”

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