Three concerned citizens have dragged to court President Peter Mutharika and nine commissioners of the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) including chairperson Jane Ansah.
The development follows the Constitution court ruling of 3rd February this year which went in favor of Malawi Congress Party president Lazarus Chakwera and UTM’s Saulos Chilima.
The Constitutional Court further ruled that there should be a fresh election claiming MEC incompetently managed May 21 election results.
Since the ruling was delivered, various quarters has been baying for new blood at MEC saying that is the only way of having a free, fair and credible fresh election as ordered by the court.
The three concerned citizens – Thokozani Chenjezi, George Ngwenyama Phiri and Aaron Kayira – say they want Mutharika to immediately fire Ansah and the other commissioners in response to the election case judgment which found that there were irregularities in the 2019 elections.
According to a Lilongwe High court document seen by this publication, the trio want an order for leave to file judicial review proceedings against the failure by the first defendant (President Mutharika) to remove (Jane Ansah and other 8 MEC commissioners) from the membership of the electoral commission.
“..notwithstanding that circumstances have arisen which would have disqualified them from appointment as such, had they not been appointed as members of the Electoral Commission,” reads part of the high Court document.
The three have further applied for an order restraining all Ansah and the commissioners from performing their duties until the determination of the judicial review or a court order.
The Public Appointments Committee of Parliament last month recommended that Mutharika should fire the MEC commissioners over their failure to competently manage the 2019 polls.
However, President Mutharika through his spokesman, Mgeme Kalirani, said he is still studying recommendations to fire MEC commissioners hence the delay.
