Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Jane Ansah says the current commission will manage the fresh presidential elections and will soon launch a calendar for the polls.
The MEC chairperson, who has been the subject of post-election protests with activists demanding her resignation over the MEC’s management of the 2019 elections, told Rainbow Television on Friday that the commission is optimistic it will administer the May 2020 fresh presidential elections.
According to the MEC chairperson, the commission will run the fresh presidential election within the five months given by the Constitutional Court and will soon launch the electoral calendar for the polls.
Following the Constitutional Court’s order for MEC told conduct fresh elections, the commission submitted a provisional budget amounting to K32.8 billion but in the budget passed last month, K29.1 billion was allocated for the polls.
In the interview with the television station, Ansah said they are banking on development partners to help provide the deficit.
Ansah’s assertion that the current commission will run the fresh elections comes after the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament recommended that President Peter Mutharika should fire the current MEC commissioners over their management of the 2019 elections.
The committee made the recommendation following a competence audit of Ansah and the other eight MEC commissioners as ordered by the court that nullified the 2019 polls
Meanwhile, Mutharika is yet to act on the committee’s recommendations.
