..says he is ready to campaign for fresh elections
President Peter Mutharika has described the nullification of the 2019 President Elections as the beginning of the death of Malawi’s democracy and as an attempt to undermine the will of the people.
In a national address broadcast on state radio MBC tonight, Mutharika said he has serious reservation with the Constitutional Court ruling which nullified the presidential elections.
“We consider the judgement as a serious subversion of justice, an attack on our democratic systems and an attempt to undermine the will of the people.
“As it stands, the judgment if not cured, represents a flawed precedence for all the elections in all future elections in the country. In fact, this judgment inaugurates the death of Malawi’s democracy. As such it cannot stand unchallenged,” said Mutharika.
The Malawi leader then confirmed that he has told his lawyers to file an appeal at the Supreme Court of Appeal.
He said he is not appealing to stop the fresh elections which the Constitutional Court ordered the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) to conduct in five months.
“In fact, we are ready to campaign and win as we have always done. We are appealing to correct the fundamental errors in the judgement to protect our laws, principles of justice and democracy. We believe the judgement has
errors that need to be corrected. Above all, we seek justice,” said Mutharika.
He, however, expressed delight that the court did not find that there was rigging in the elections saying the court identified procedural irregularities which did not affect the numbers that he got.
Mutharika was declared winner of the now nullified presidential elections with 1, 940, 709 of the 5.1 million votes while opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera got 35 percent of the total votes cast.
Chakwera and UTM leader Saulos Chilima later challenged the results of the election at the court.
In his speech tonight, Mutharika praised Chakwera and Chilima for taking the electoral dispute to court. But he advised the two and all Malawians not be carried away by the court ruling because it is not the end of everything.
