Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperon Justice Jane Ansah today addressed the Electoral Commissions Forum for SADC Countries (ECF-SADC) annual general meeting in Blantyre.
The conference which is taking place at Mount Soche Hotel in the city was opened this morning by Malawi Vice President Everton Chimulirenji.
Ansah who is also SADC-ECF president spoke at the meeting where she challenged electoral commissions in the SADC region to deliver credible elections for peace and coexistence to continue in the region.
The conference is being held at a time the MEC chairperson is under pressure to step down.
The Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) has been organising nationwide demonstrations demanding Ansah’s resignation.
The organisation as well as the oppositon Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and UTM accuse Ansah and MEC of failing to deliver credible presidential elections in May.
For the past three months, Ansah has defied calls for her to resign and today she is making her first public appearance since June.
At the Hotel where the ECF conference is taking place, there is heavy security with police officers deployed at the gates.
The meeting will end on Friday this week.
Meanwhile, the HRDC says fresh demonstrations against the MEC chairperson are expected to be conducted from Wednesday to Friday.
THERE ARE HEFTY OFFICIAL ALLOWANCES IN MONETORY TERMS ASSOCIATED WITH ATTENDING SUCH FORUMS. WHETHER OR NOT ‘OBJECTIVES’ OF SUCH CONFERENCES ARE BEING ACHIEVED, THE HEFTY ALLOWANCES ARE ALWAYS ACHIEVED BY THE OFFICIALS. SO IT ISN’T REALLY A QUESTION OF WHETHER OR NOT MALAWI WAS A MORALLY SUITABLE VENUE (I DON’T THIK SO), RATHER IT’S A QUESTION OF POCKETING THE ALLOWANCES AT ALL COSTS, HENCE, FOXES RARELY SEEN IN PUBLIC SINCE THE MAY 21 DISPUTED ELECTIONS, ARE ABLE TO COME OUT OF HIDING, FOR THE OBVIOUS STATED REASONS.