Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) Chief Elections Officer Sammy Alfandika has told the Constitutional Court that the electoral body used tippexed and unsigned result sheets in the May 21 elections.
Alfandika said this when he was being cross-examined by Marshall Chilenga who is lawyer for Saulos Chilima in the presidential elections case.
Asked if he received and used unsigned result sheets, Alfandika said yes.
“Is it your evidence in this court that we should accept tippexed result sheets?” asked Chilenga.
Alfandika responded: “If there is no contrary result submitted by the petitioners, yes.”
He also confirmed to the court that he presented to MEC commissioners altered and tippexed result sheets for them to determine the results of the presidential elections.
During the cross-examination, Alfandika told the court there were no cases during the elections where processing of results was done in absence of monitors.
When asked if he was aware that in 700 statements presented to the court some presiding officers admitted to making alterations on result sheets in the absence of monitors, Alfandika said he was not aware.
Chilenga then asked the MEC CEO to read a paragraph in one statement in which a presiding officer from Chitipa said: “The alterations were done at the constituency tally centre to reconcile number of ballots received, unused ballots, cancelled or spoilt ballots, null and void, valid votes and cast ballot papers. The alterations were not made in the presence of monitors.”
Alfandika then told the court that it was the first time he was hearing about this.
In the elections case, Malawi Congress Party President Lazarus Chakwera and UTM leader Chilima are challenging the results of the May 21 polls.
A