Malawi appoints four new electoral commissioners

The appointed commissioners include three nominated by the opposition Democratic Progressive Party and one from the ruling Malawi Congress Party.

RUSTENBURG, June 10 (ANA) – President Lazarus Chakwera has appointed four new commissioners to the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), local media reported on Thursday.

According to news website Malawi24, the commissioners include three who were nominated by the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

The DPP commissioners are Francis Lazaro Kasaila, Emmanuel Fabiano and Caroline Mfune. The other commissioner is Richard Chapweteka, who was nominated by the ruling Malawi Congress Party (MCP).

The appointment comes after the high court on June 2 nullified the appointment of four DPP commissioners, having found that they had not been not properly appointed.

The ruling came after the MCP complained that the amended Electoral Commission Act of 2017 gives parties with one-tenth of the parliamentary seats power to submit to the president a minimum of three nominees to be appointed as MEC commissioners.

The high court nullified the appointments of Arthur Nanthulu, Steve Duwa, Linda Kunje and Jean Mathanga, saying they had been illegally appointed by former president Peter Mutharika.

According to the court, Mutharika was supposed to appoint three commissioners submitted by the DPP and three by the MCP, but he appointed four from the DPP instead, Malawi24 reported.

The appointment of the four commissioners paved the way for the electoral commission to conduct the by-elections planned for June 29.

Malawi media reported last week that the electoral commission said the June 29 by-elections would be suspended if new commissioners were not appointed before the polls.

Chairperson Chifundo Kachale said that since the courts removed the four commissioners from the electoral commission, the remaining members have no authority to make resolutions, decisions or determinations, based on the commission’s constitutional mandate.

– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher