The United Democratic Front (UDF) has called for the immediate dissolution of the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) saying the commission has lost its moral authority to manage credible elections
In a statement on Tuesday following the nullification of the 2019 presidential elections by the constitutional court, the UDF also demanded prosecution of perpetrators of the electoral fraud to deter any future perpetrators from following the same course.
According to the UDF, the court’s ruling has revealed gross incompetence and total disregard of the electoral laws by the Electoral Commission during the electoral process.
“The ruling in essence says that the Electoral Commission was sleeping on the job and the Chief elections officer usurped its powers.
“The Electoral Commission presided over a miscarriage of an electoral process and justice which should never have been allowed in a democratic dispensation.
“It is also very clear from the ruling that the results of elections did not reflect the will of the people of Malawi which is a fundamental prerequisite of any democratic election,” said Kandi Padambo, UDF Secretary General.
The opposition party further expressed concern that the widespread and grave irregularities that undermined the presidential elections may have also affected the results of both the local government and parliamentary elections.
The UDF in the statement applauded the constitutional court judges for displaying total independence throughout the hearing and appealed to supporters of the petitioners to celebrate peacefully and the respondents to abide by the courts determination.
On Monday, the Constitutional Court ruled that President was not duly elected as President of Malawi in the May 21 Elections. The court ordered MEC to conduct fresh elections.
