Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) has said it is weighing options to take in holding by-elections in Lilongwe City South East Constituency and Lilongwe Msozi South.
Recently, the electoral body sought an interpretation from Attorney General (AG) Kalekeni Kaphale on some clauses in the ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal which annulled the results of disputed elections in Lilongwe City South East.
Kaphale confirmed in an interview Thursday that he responded to a letter by Mec officials seeking his legal opinion on the matter on Thursday last week but could not divulge more.
“I cannot share with you what my response was, you can ask them,” Kaphale said.
Mec Spokesperson, Richard Mveriwa, said the commissioners will have to study the interpretation as given by the AG before making an official announcement on when the by-elections will be held.
“Chances are that we might hold the by-elections in Lilongwe Msozi North together with those in Lilongwe City South East depending on what the commissioners will agree on. The commission was hesitant because we were waiting for an interpretation from the AG, and now that we have it, we hope very soon a decision will be made.
“A calendar for by-election in Lilongwe Msozi North is ready for adoption and once that is done then an announcement will be made on the dates, but we are hoping that the launch of the parliamentary elections will be done in April next month” Mveriwa said.
Some of the sticky issues that the commission raised with the AG according to Mveriwa, included whether the electoral body should open up the by-elections to all contestants who presented nomination papers during the 2014 general elections or just limit the re-run to the two contestants namely Bentry Namasasu of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) who was declared winner and Malawi Congress Party’s (MCP) Ulemu Msungama who challenged the results in court.
Malawi Electoral Support Network (Mesn) Executive Director, Steve Duwa, said that his understanding of the ruling, by the Supreme Court, is that the whole electoral process must start all over again in Lilongwe City South East constituency.
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