Mec ready for Lilongwe South by-election
Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) has said it is on course to re-schedule Lilongwe-South parliamentary by-election, which were postponed over cases of violence.
Mec spokesperson, Sangwani Mwafulirwa, made the remarks Tuesday following a meeting which the commission had with Multiparty Liaison Committee and Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD) members on Friday and Monday.
“On Thursday, the commission met with members of the Multiparty Liaison Committee which comprises political parties and traditional leaders among other key stakeholders. We discussed the matter and established the root causes of the cases of violence,” he said.
During Monday’s meeting with selected CMD members, political parties were challenged to urge their supporters to desist from violence.
“Now, since the commission has heard from stakeholders, we will sit down, plan and see on the calendar to identify the possible day for the by-election. As a commission, we will also have to approach Treasury for funds because, as a commission, we do not generate our own funds for running elections,” he said.
Mwafulirwa said Mec is interested in holding the election so that people of the constituency should have parliamentary representation.
Mec postponed the by-election in October after clashes between supporters of rival candidates.
In some cases, Mec commissioners, who were conducting awareness meetings in the constituency, were attacked by people who claimed to have lost trust in Mec.
