Opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and UTM have dragged President Peter Mutharika and commissioners of the Malawi Electoral Commision (MEC) to court over the commissioners’ continued stay in office.
The two political parties have also applied for an injunction to stop the MEC commissioners from carrying out their duties.
Mutharika has been dragged into the court case because he refused to fire MEC Chairperson Jane Ansah and the other eight MEC commisioners as recommended by the Parliamentary Public Appointments Committee, which inquired into the commissioners’ competence last month.
UTM lawyer Chikosa Silungwe told the local media that the commissioners cannot continue to work and lead preparations for the 2020 fresh elections because the Constitutional Court and the parliamentary committe found them incompetent.
“We have filed a case against the commissioners in their individual capacity,” he said.
He added that the court has since set a date for the hearing.
The legal action comes days after MEC led by Ansah launched the electoral calendar for the 2020 fresh polls.
The elections will be held in July this year following the nullification of the 2019 elections by the Constitutional Court which found that the there were widespread irregularities that affected the outcome.
MEC is appealing against that ruling and Ansah earlier this week suggested that she will resign if the Supreme Court of Appeals upholds the Constitutional Court’s ruling.
