Malawi's President elect Arthur Peter Mutharika (centre) is sworn in for
his second term in Blantyre on May 28, 2019. Malawi's constitutional
court on February 3, 2020 ordered a new presidential election after
annulling the results. PHOTO | AMOS GUMULIRA | AFP
Malawi's constitutional court on
Monday ordered a new presidential election after annulling the
results
of a vote that re-elected President Peter Mutharika in May, citing
widespread polling irregularities, including the use of correction fluid
on ballot papers.
The
verdict, which is expected to stoke turmoil in the traditionally
peaceful southern African country, can be appealed by Mutharika, who
will remain president until the fresh polls.
"We
hold that the first respondent (Mutharika) was not duly elected as
president of Malawi on May 21, 2019," ruled lead judge Healey Potani.
"We hereby nullify the results of the presidential elections and we order for a fresh election," he said.
A new election should be organised within 150 days, the court said.
In
the meantime the status in the presidency, including the office of the
vice president, revert to what it was prior to last year's presidential
election.
Sporadic protests have broken
out across the country since Mutharika was declared the winner of the
May vote by a narrow margin with 38.5 percent of the vote.
Runner-up Lazarus Chakwera, who lost by just 159,000 votes, alleges he was robbed of victory and went to court.
UNJUSTIFIABLE
The
case gripped the nation and kept Malawians glued to radio stations for
hours on end, listening to live broadcast of witnesses presenting
evidence of the alleged vote rigging during a six-month-long hearing.
On
Monday security was tightened with a heavy military presence around the
court and businesses pulled down their shutters for the week, fearing
violence erupting after the ruling was announced.
Judges were driven to court in a military armoured vehicle.
An
army helicopter occasionally hovered above the courthouse and the
central business district as the 500-page verdict was read out.
"It
is clear that the use of Tippex (correction fluid) was employed by
(electoral commission) officers to hide votes," said judge Ivy Kamanga,
taking a turn reading the judgement that took more than nine hours to
deliver.
"Use of Tippex
was unjustifiable and an irregularity," she said, adding the way in
which the electoral commission "dealt with the alterations was not in
line with the law, hence it was irregular".
The
court also said that only a quarter of the results sheets were verified
and it "finds this to be a serious malpractice that undermined the
elections".
'PIVOTAL MOMENT'
It
is the first time a presidential election has been challenged on legal
grounds in Malawi since independence from Britain in 1964.
The
outcome echoes a historic decision by Kenya's judiciary to annul
presidential election results over claims of widespread irregularities
in 2017.
"Credible, free and fair elections form a solid foundation for democracy," Potani said in a preamble to the judgement.
Protesters
took to the streets over several months last year demanding the
resignation of the electoral commission chief, and many demonstrations
turned violent.
Anger
flared last month after Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda claimed bribes had
been offered to the five judges presiding over the case.
Malawi's anti-graft body vowed to probe the allegations and arrested top banker Thom Mpinganjira last week.
The opposition has urged supporters to maintain peace and accept the court's decision.
Mutharika,
79, has repeatedly dismissed opposition accusations that election was
rigged and brushed off doubts about the official results.
In
a joint statement, British, American and several European ambassadors
referred Thursday to the verdict as a "pivotal moment" in Malawi's
history.
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