By Kondwani Magombo, MANA
Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson, Justice Dr. Jane Ansah has bemoaned the laxity on social distancing among Malawians attending political rallies across the country ahead of fresh presidential election.
She made the observation in Mangochi on Wednesday during the National Elections Consultative Forum (NECOF) meeting when she, among other things updated elections stakeholders on the Commission’s preparations for the fresh presidential election.
MEC chairperson Jane Ansah
Ansah had always taken COVOD-19 seriously and that MEC had always insisted that preventive measures should be observed at all cost in all electoral processes.
“As MEC, we have got enough COVID-19 preventive materials for our staff; out there it’s the responsibility of leaders of political parties to ensure that social distancing is observed,” she said.
“That was why during my televised speech on May 2, 2020 marking the official launch of campaign period, I emphasized that candidates should find innovative ways of reaching out to the electorate due to the global pandemic.”
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The MEC Chairperson bemoaned what she termed as “staged political conflicts” among the contesting parties as observed during the just ended Phase II voters’ registration period.
She said the Commission received complaints from Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), among others, on the registration of under-aged but it is suspected that some of the conflicts were staged.
“These acts of dirtying the water upstream and quickly run downstream to feign surprise as to why the water is dirty should not be tolerated.
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Let’s be serious and have civilized election osati za umbvundula madzi ayi.”
During the same NECOF meeting MEC proposed June 23, 2020 as tentative date for the fresh presidential election following the May 8 Supreme Court ruling.
Ansah said the proposal was in regards to the fact that while the Supreme Court upheld the High Court’s order that the fresh election should be held in 150 days, the latter Court clarified that the 150 days should include the announcing of the results.
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“Following the Supreme Court’s clarification, we counted 8 days backwards from July 2, 2020 which is the 149th day from February 3, 2020 when the Constitutional Court made the ruling, and we ended up with June 23, 2020 as a tentative date for the election,” Ansah explained.
She was quick to point out that the responsibility of setting the date for the election lied in the hands of Parliament.
She said it was up to the august House to either endorse the proposed date or to set another date within the Supreme Court’s specified period.