By Duncan Mlanjira
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has thanked its supporters in particular and all Malawians alike for the peace and calmed demonstrated before, during and the conclusion of the Constitutional Court case, saying this was a clear manifestation of the DPP ideology built on its pillars of Patriotism, Integrity and Hard Work.
This was said in a statement issued by the Party’s Secretary General Grezeldar Jeffrey, who added that the DPP remains committed in fostering national building, social development and addressing issues in a peaceful and democratic means.
“The DPP commits to uphold the spirit of constitutionalism, good governance and democracy as always professed by our leader, His Excellency Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika.
“The Party, therefore, urges all its supporters and Malawians of goodwill to maintain peace and order as we chart the way forward.
“The DPP will issue a formal statement following the Constitutional Court judgement,” says the statement.
Meanwhile, the United Democratic Front (UDF) says the Constitutional Court has made its judgement, describing the as a landmark decision which has exposed the gravity and extent of the irregularities in the 2019 tripartite elections.
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Processors
“It has also revealed gross incompetence and total disregard of the electoral laws on the part of the Electoral Commission during the electoral process,” says a statement from the party released by its Secretary General Kandi Padambo.
“Our position as UDF is that considering the massive irregularities as exposed in the elections case ruling, there could be a number of Malawians outside the National Assembly and local councils, who actually won the elections.
UDF SG Kandi Padambo
“The ruling in essence says that then Electoral Commission was sleeping on the job and the Chief Elections Officer usurped his powers.”
The UDF further says it demands the immediate dissolution of the electoral commission because if has lost it moral authority to manage credible elections and that the perpetrators of the electoral fraud should be investigated and prosecuted so as the dictates.
This, the party says, is in order to deter any future perpetrators from following the same course [and] this is one way of ensuring the delivery of of future free and fair elections.
UDF president Atupele Muluzi
“The UDF wishes to applaud the Constitutional Court judges for displaying total independence throughout the hearing.
“The UDF would also like to congratulate the petitioners and their legal team for putting up a gallant fight [and] the UDF would like to appeal to the supporters of the petitioners to celebrate peacefully and respondents to abide by the court’s determination.”
In a tweet message, UDF’s president Atupele Muluzi said the ConCourt has delivered a historical decision and that Malawi has demonstrated to the wold the strength of its democracy.
“The UDF will now meet to discuss next steps,” he said. “Thank you all, Malawi Defence Force and Malawi Police Service for maintaining peace and unity.”