Malawian judges who nullified the 2019 Presidential Elections have been nominated for the Chatham House Prize.
The judges are Healey Potani, Ivy Kamanga, Dingiswayo Madise, Redson Kapindu and Michael Tembo.
In a letter to Potani who was lead judge, Director of Chatham House Robert Niblett said the nomination recognises the bravery of the judges which has left an impression on Chatham House’s research and it’s three co-presidents.
“Congratulations on this nomination which recognises the very significant contribution that we believe you have made to improve the state of international relations this past year,” wrote Niblett.
The judges are one of three nominees for the award which is presented every year since it was initiated in 2005.
Past winners of the award include American politician Hillary Clinton, former Mozambique president Joaquim Chissano and former Ghana leader John Kufuor.
Chatham House was established in 1920 and is a world leading centre for research and analysis of international affairs.
In 2019, Malawi held Presidential Elections in which Malawi Electoral Commission announced the then Malawi leader Peter Mutharika as winner.
But Mutharika’s opponents, Lazarus Chakwera and Saulos Chilima, challenged the outcome at the court.
After hearing the case for months, the five-judge panel of the Constitutional Court nullified the polls.
The ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court of Appeal in May and Malawi held Fresh Presidential Elections on June 23.
In the fresh elections, Chakwera and Chilima joined forces – as candidate and runningmate respectively – to defeat Mutharika.
