MEC arrangement affects Parliament

Malawi Electoral Commission’s (MEC) decision to receive nomination papers from candidates in the May 21 2019 Tripartite Elections before the constitutional dissolution of the National Assembly on March 20 has thrown Parliament in a near crisis.

Speaker of the National Assembly Richard Msowoya said yesterday Parliament will have to elect a new leader of opposition once President Peter Mutharika gives a nod to convene the House for the Mid-Year Budget Review Meeting.

That will be the case because Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president Lazarus Chakwera resigned as member of Parliament (MP) for Lilongwe North West and effectively as leader of opposition in Parliament to qualify for nomination as presidential candidate in line with constitutional provisions.

Section 80 (7)(e) of the Constitution reads: “No person shall be eligible for nomination as a candidate for election as President or First-Vice President or for appointment as First-Vice President or Second Vice-President if that person is a holder of a public office or a member of Parliament unless that person first resigns.”

Chakwera’s decision to resign stirred debate with some legal minds suggesting that he should have first sought legal guidance from MEC because it was their making that nominations are received before Parliament is dissolved on March 20 as the Constitution dictates.

In an interview yesterday, Msowoya said it was automatic that Parliament elects Chakwera’s replacement.

The position of leader of opposition is critical as the holder is a crucial member of the Business Committee which sets out business to be discussed in the National Assembly.

But MEC chairperson Jane Ansah said she does not see any problem with the resignation of the leader of opposition, saying Chakwera only followed procedure.

She said MEC resorted to receiving nomination papers before the dissolution of Parliament to have more time to process ballot papers.

“The dissolution of Parliament does not concern us. We are collecting the nominations early because we want to run away from errors.

“The only people who will somehow be affected by Section 80 of the Constitution will be those running for the presidency [while serving as MPs].

“The [current] MPs, current President and the Vice-President do not need to resign. So, if anyone holds a public office now, he/she has to resign. We will go according to the rules in receiving the nominations,” said Ansah who is a judge of the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal and a former Attorney General.

On what would happen if a Speaker of Parliament wanted to contest in the presidential race while the House is not dissolved, Ansah said the electoral body does not work on assumptions.

She said: “The Speaker did not express intention to contest so we cannot be talking about that, we have just started collection of the nomination papers to avoid errors,” she said

On Tuesday, University of Malawi’s Chancellor College dean of law Sunduzwayo Madise faulted MEC electoral calendar for not considering legislators who want to contest as presidents as Parliament is constitutionally set to be dissolved on March20 after submission of nomination papers.

He hailed Chakwera for his resignation as MP and leader of opposition and suggested that MCP should elect an acting leader of opposition.

But another legal scholar also based at Chancellor College, Ngeyi Kanyongolo, noted that it was not peculiar for MEC to receive nomination papers before Parliament is dissolved as it also happened in 2014.

MEC spokesperson Sangwani Mwafulirwa told The Nation on Monday that the issue was one of several raised in the Electoral Reforms Bills but the process was not finalised.

In the 2009 presidential race, then legislators Joyce Banda, John Tembo, Brown Mpinganjira, Clement Stambuli and Loveness Gondwe risked being technically barred from submitting nominations either as presidential candidates or running mates as they were still serving as MPs.

However, MEC processed their submissions.

Writing on Facebook, a senior lawyer argued that the nomination papers become technically operational during the official campaign period starting March 20, after Parliament was dissolved.