One of the Commissioners for Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) Clifford Baloyi has insisted that the 21 May Presidential Elections were free and fair and the use of tippex did not favor any political party.
The Commissioner appeared before the Public Appointments Committee (PAC) on Monday where he totally disagreed with the ruling that the elections were marred with irregularities.
“The elections were free and fair and the use of tippex did not affect the results. I was very surprised with the Constitutional Court Judgement on 3 February which nullified the 21 May presidential elections results saying MEC did not manage the elections properly. I was very surprised because we as MEC we run a satisfactory, free and fair elections”, Baloyi said.
During the hearing, Baloyi confirmed that some ballot papers were printed locally but was not aware who printed the ballot papers
The Public Appointments Committee of Parliament has been meeting with MEC commissioners starting from last week to inquire into their competence in managing elections.
On Tuesday, the hearing was stopped for a few minutes due to misunderstanding that erupted between PAC members as some wanted the committee to come up with a verdict on last week’s hearing before interviewing Baloyi.
