Chief Justice certifies DPP elections case

The fresh presidential election challenge by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has been certified as a Constitutional Case.

Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda has certified the case as a constitutional matter and the panel of judges will be led by Justice Sylvester Kalembera.

DPP lawyer Charles Mhango has confirmed the development in the case.

The certification comes over a month after Judge Dingiswayo Madise referred the case to the Chief Justice, saying the case raises serious constitutional issues.

The DPP wants the 2020 fresh presidential elections to be nullified as the party argues that the elections were managed by a commission that included commissioners who were not duly appointed.

In the 2020 presidential elections, Tonse Alliance’s Lazarus Chakwera beat DPP’s Peter Mutharika.

Mutharika was the incumbent at the time and he appointed new MEC commissioners weeks before the polls.

The commissioners included four nominated by the DPP and two nominated by Malawi Congress Party (MCP) which is led by Chakwera.

The High Court in June ruled that the law compelled Mutharika to appoint equal number of commissioners from the two parties. The court then cancelled the appointments of the four DPP commissioners and ordered the DPP to submit three names to President Chakwera.

The DPP, through the four commissioners – Arthur Nanthuru, Linda Kunje, Jean Mathanga and Steven Duwa – argues that the results of 2020 presidential elections cannot continue to be valid because the elections were handled by a commission that comprised illegally appointed commissioners.