The youth under Youth Decide Campaign have added their voice to calls for Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec)’s dissolution for presiding over flawed May 21 2019 presidential election.
On February 3, the Constitution Court in Lilongwe declared the presidential election results null and void and ordered a fresh election within 150 days from the day of the Judgement.
In a statement released Thursday, the campaign’s team leader, Charles Kajoloweka, commends the court’s order for suggesting key reforms particularly the 50 percent +1 provision.
“The verdict is a triumph of democracy and rule of law. On the other hand, the verdict is an exposé of serious gaps and glaring incompetence in elections management by the electoral commission. The verdict is, hence, a call for bold reforms of the law and practice.
“Undoubtedly, the verdict has laid strong foundation for credible elections in the future. We thus welcome the verdict and call on authorities to respect and implement the court’s decision,” he said.
On Wednesday, UTM president, Saulos Chilima, also demanded that Mec Chairperson Jane Ansah, the rest of the commissioners and chief elections officer, Sam Alfandika, should resign, a call which the electoral body has since ignored.
Mec spokesperson, Sangwani Mwafulirwa, is quoted in the media saying the commission will make its official position on the matters raised by the electoral stakeholders soon.
Kajoloweka said they were committed to holding authorities accountable particularly on the implementation of the court decisions.
Kajoloweka, who is also Youth and Society Executive Director, urged Parliament to subpoena all observer missions to account for their role in the annulled elections and devise transparent and accountable mechanisms for future observation missions in elections.
Some 54 percent of the 6.8 million voters registered for the May 2019 elections were the youth aged between 18 and 35.
