Malawians to cast vote in fresh presidential poll Tuesday

LILONGWE, Malawi | XINHUA | Thirteen months after Malawi held tripartite elections in May 2019, the country is going to conduct fresh presidential election Tuesday, June 23.

This follows the monumental Feb. 3 court ruling which annulled the May 2019 presidential poll after a lengthy legal battle in which opposition parties challenged the victory of President Peter Mutharika.

In its historical and unprecedented ruling, the high court sitting as the constitutional court declared the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) incompetent, saying the May 2019 election was marred with “grave, systematic and widespread irregularities which undermined the credibility of the results”.

The court ordered that fresh presidential election should be held in 150 days.

Despite all political manoeuvring and existing COVID-19 threat which has so far claimed 11 lives with 730 confirmed cases, all is set and Malawians will cast their vote Tuesday, June 23.

80-year-old incumbent President Peter Mutharika, of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) faces opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) leader, Lazarus Chakwera, 65, while a little known candidate, Peter Kuwani, makes the third contender in the fresh poll.

Mutharika goes to the poll with United Democratic Front (UDF) leader, Atupele Muluzi, as running mate while Chakwera goes with the country’s Vice President and leader of the United Transformation Movement (UTM), Saulos Chilima, as his running mate.

Chakwera, who is determined to win the election, has said in his campaign he wants “a Malawi where everyone feels well cared for and respected, and not a Malawi where only a few individuals call the shots and enjoy the spoils at the expense of the poor”.

On the other hand, Mutharika has in his campaign touted continued infrastructural and socio-economic development.

In May, a survey by nonpartisan pan African research network, Afrobarometer predicted that Chakwera would poll 53 percent to 63 percent against Mutharika’s 37 percent to 47 percent.

Another recent opinion poll conducted in May by the University of Malawi’s Institute of Public Opinion and Research (IPOR) predicted that Chakwera team will poll 53 percent while Mutharika’s team will poll 31 percent.

While most Malawians hope for a more credible election with the appointment of new MEC chairperson, Justice Chifundo Kachale, who replaced embattled Justice Jane Ansah, legal experts fear that the Malawi June 23 fresh election might lead into another long legal battle.

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XINHUA