Mutharika wants Malawi to choose between election and fight against Covid-19

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President Peter Mutharika says Malawi should choose between the 2020 fresh presidential election and the fight against coronavirus.

Mutharika made the remarks on Monday during a visit to Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) in Thyolo.

The Malawi leader said the fight against the coronavirus in the country is being undermined by the politics.

He attacked the courts for blocking a lockdown which his government wanted to institute and for ordering the fresh elections following the nullification of the 2019 presidential polls.

“The Courts stopped us from going on a lockdown. The same Courts want us to go to an Election. Everybody knows that I won the 2019 Election! If the Court had chosen to follow the law and evidence of the Election Case, we wouldn’t be going to another Election.

“Now, we have a situation that is encouraging everybody to campaign and undermining social distance. We are risking lives of innocent Malawians. With this Election, we are risking lives of our children, our mothers, our fathers, our brothers and sisters.

“As President of this country, this is what I have to say. This country must choose between fighting Coronavirus and going to an Election. We must choose between life and death. As a country, we must make that choice,” said Mutharika.

He then commended the university making new products for the fight against Coronavirus.

The university has among produced ventilators, automatic water and soap dispensers, face shields, reusable face masks and hand sanitizers.

Mutharika said the Malawi University of Science and Technology has lived up to expectations of leading in science, technology education, research and entrepreneurship.

“This crisis has challenged us to remember that we are a capable nation that can produce more and export more.

“This crisis has proven that we can become a self-dependent nation, capable of producing technologies that can lead in the world,” said Mutharika.

Malawi recorded the first cases (3) of the Coronavirus on April 2 and now the number of cases is 336. Four people have died and 42 have recovered.

President Peter Mutharika’s administration on April 14 announced a lockdown which Mutharika said will start on April 18 and end May 9. At the time, the number of cases was 16.

However, the lockdown was blocked by the courts after rights groupings sought an injunction.

People in the country are expected to vote in the fresh presidential elections this month.

 

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