Lessons learnt from 2019 Tripartite Election must not be pushed aside and forgotten — MEC chairperson Kachale

By Duncan Mlanjira

Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson, Justice Chifundo Kachale says several lessons have been learnt from the experiences of the 2019 Tripartite Election that included costly, lengthy and exhausting court processes that ensued after immediately following the determination of the results on 27th May 2019.

He said this on Thursday during the opening of a two-day Electoral Reforms Review Conference organized by National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) Public Trust at Bingu International Conference Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe.

These, Justice Kachale says, are lessons that must not be pushed aside and forgotten.

He said the lessons learnt are that electoral management bodies are as integral to democracy as midwives are to safe motherhood.

“In other words, elections can be threatened when elections management bodies fail to exercise their mandate in a manner that expresses legal validity and popular legitimacy.

“We were also reflecting on the lesson that Constitutionalism demands cultural transformation in order to deliver democratically acceptable outcomes — beyond amending the aspects of the law, we need to have certain attitudes that give premium to the concept of democracy, that the governed must consent to the government without which we cannot have a functional democracy.

“But also, democracy requires a commitment to play by the rules from all stakeholders; Electoral Management Bodies must run polls with strict adherence to the applicable laws, contestants and the public should seek to vindicate their interests through the legal mechanisms.”

He added that in a democratic society, there should not be censuring of opinions and that as MEC chairperson, it was gratifying to learn that after the lengthy and very contested process, the outcome of the fresh presidential election, was never subjected to another judicial process, and that required acceptance from all contesting political parties.

“And I think that’s important to observe because without that attitude, we can be going around in circles.

“But further, one important lesson we can take from the previous election and the whole judicial process is that democracy works well when the vote is given the weight and value it deserves as the expression of the will of the governed on the choice of their rulers.

“Therefore, as we think of reforming the law, we should not fall captive to the notion that democracy is a question of rules and laws we must seek to create systems that enforce the culture of participation, inclusion and accountability.”

Kachale said it is through a reflection of the manner of administration and conduct of the 2019 tripartite election and the 2020 fresh presidential elections that the country can become assured that future elections will be well managed.

“In undertaking this reflection, the legal framework must be reviewed. Where it falls short, reforms must be mooted, proposed and if agreed by all key stakeholders, passed into new law.

“As we reflect on legal reforms, its important to also reflect on some of the things that have worked well in our system and take lessons that will ensure that our future elections are better managed and generate results that are more acceptable and it is in that line that the issue of reviewing the legal framework becomes very paramount.

“But I also think it will be very important to acknowledge that efforts have already been invested in designing and creating legal texts that may seem to address the gaps that have been found in our electoral system.

“And this meeting should devote time to investigate why those legal reforms seem to stale. In my own reflection, I think one thing we should never forget is that democracy is not a machine — it involves people and the process of legal reforms involves people and various stakeholders that should be engaged if you desire to get certain outcomes.

“We should know what scared Parliamentarians from enacting those reforms, and how can we address their doubts. We should find out, what was the executive scared about, and how we can take out those fears,” Kachale said.