By Isaac Salima:
Five individuals have dragged to court the Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec), its chairperson Judge Annabel Mtalimanja, National Registration Bureau (NRB) and its principal secretary Mphatso Sambo over contempt.
The five are George Chipwaila, Geoffrey Banda, Alex Philip Banda, James Chitsulo and Crino Masulani.
The seven defendants include Mec, NRB represented by the Attorney General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda, Mtalimanja, Sambo, Mec Regional Elections Manager for the Southern Region Jeff Kabondo, Regional Elections Manager for the Central Region Esmie Chisepeya and Northern Region Elections Manager Diverson Makwete.
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The seven are accused of not complying with a court determination made on October 25 2024 in which they were ordered to immediately step in and put in mechanisms that would ensure that persons who meet the eligibility criteria set by Section 77 of the Constitution register to vote.
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The ruling was delivered by Judge Mandala Mambulasa, who ruled that NRB officials were supposed to be present at Mec registration centres to register those who are eligible to vote in the September 16 2025 Local Government, Parliamentary and Presidential Elections.
The case was held virtually yesterday and has been adjourned to January 17 next year.
One of the lawyers representing the claimants, Bob Chimkango, said his clients arrived at the decision because the defendants had allegedly been disobeying the court order.
“The only way to enforce it was to push for contempt where, if one is found guilty, they are imprisoned or ordered to pay a fine. The people have come up with evidence that Mec and NRB did not obey the order,” he said.
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On his part, Chakaka Nyirenda, who is representing NRB, said the matter was adjourned because documents were served on the defendants late.
“We have raised over nine preliminary objections,” Chakaka Nyirenda said.
The individuals are the ones who applied against the use of the national identity card as proof of identification to register to vote in an election.
The court rejected their application.
Last week, Mec finished voter registration exercises for phase one, two and three.
However before closing, some opposition parties accused NRB of not complying with the court order.
In its sworn statement, NRB, through Chakaka Nyirenda, says it has registered 12.5 million people against a set target of 10.9 million people.
NRB had initially released a statement that it would comply with the order.
