Respect court verdict—clergy

With the High Court of Malawi sitting as the Constitutional Court set to conclude hearing of the presidential elections nullification petition this week, the clergy have taken fresh and bold steps to prepare Malawians for the verdict.

Public Affairs Committee (PAC), an interfaith quasi-religious grouping, on Wednesday said it is planning national prayers on December 14 at Bingu International Convention Centre in Lilongwe to promote religious co-existence which in turn will contribute to social cohesion and prepare Malawians to accept the verdict of the presidential elections case.

PAC’s programme follows a statement by the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM), a member of the grouping, signed by Catholic bishops who are appealing to institutions such as Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP), Pastoral and Social Communications and Catholic media houses to develop concrete ways of preparing people to accept the court ruling on the presidential case.

In their statement, the bishops have asked Malawians to maintain peace, calm and unity as the nation awaits the court verdict. They said the church will continue praying that peace and justice should overflow like a river in the country.

Besides PAC and ECM, the Blantyre Synod of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) on Tuesday announced a week of peace-building prayers in all its congregations from December 23 ahead of the elections case verdict.

In an interview yesterday, PAC executive director Robert Phiri said the grouping will invite all political party leaders, including President Peter Mutharika of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president Lazarus Chakwera and UTM Party president Saulos Chilima, to the service. Chilima is the first petitioner in the case while Chakwera is the second petitioner. Mutharika is first respondent with Malawi Elecoral Commission (MEC) as second respondent.

Phiri said: “It’s true that we have organised national prayers on peace and unity which will serve two purposes. First, is to prepare Malawians to respect the rule of law once the court makes a ruling and secondly to promote religious co-existence through holding joint prayers, demonstrating to Malawians to the principle of religious co-existence and we will formally invite all party leaders.”

He said in the event that political leaders do not confirm attendance, PAC will proceed with the ceremony.

In a separate interview, CCJP national coordinator Boniface Chibwana said his commission is geared to engage communities through its structures across the country in the event that they feel aggrieved by the ruling.

He said the commission will focus on sensitising communities to the need to follow proper channels instead of violence where they feel aggrieved.

Last month, Britain also warned that the Constitutional Court judgement on the presidential elections nullification petition could lead to more violence in the country, unless political parties enlighten their supporters on court processes and outcomes.

Prior to the British appeal, the Malawi Law Society and South Africa-based Malawian Prophet Shepherd Bushiri also asked political leaders to prepare their followers for the court verdict which can go either way.

Meanwhile, National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) Trust has embarked on a drive to sensitise the citizenry to accept the Constitutional Court case ruling.

But key political parties in the ongoing presidential election nullification petition avoided making a clear commitment on whether they would accept a ruling which is contrary to their expectation.

Currently, PAC is facilitating a dialogue process to find a lasting solution to the impasse.

PAC already met all the relevant stakeholders, including Mutharika, Chilima, Chakwera, embattled MEC chairperson Jane Ansah and leadership of Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC).

MEC declared Mutharika of DPP winner of the presidential race with 1 940 709 votes or 38.57 percent. He was trailed by Chakwera with 1 781 740 votes (35.41 percent) while Saulos Chilima of UTM Party came third with 1 018 369 votes or 20.24 percent and ahead of four other candidates.

Chilima and Chakwera filed a petition in the Constitutional Court seeking nullification of the May 21 2019 presidential election results. They cite alleged flaws in the results management process as a key factor for their case.