Vote recount stopped in Lilongwe
The scheduled recounting of ballot papers for Lilongwe City South East Constituency stalled yesterday after the disputed winner, Bently Namasasu, obtained an injunction stopping the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) from proceeding with the exercise.
The High Court in Lilongwe ordered the recount at three centres; namely, Chilinde School, City Council office and Mlodza F.P. School following a challenge from Malawi Congress Party (MCP) candidate Ulemu Msungama who queried the disproportionate number of null and void votes and shortage of 100 ballot papers which were unaccounted for.
Namasasu contested on a Democratic Progressive (DPP) ticket.
High Court Judge Lloyd Muhara granted Namasasu the stay order after his lawyer, Chauncy Gondwe, argued that he should have been a party to the case and he should have been consulted before the matter commenced against MEC.
But Msungama’s lawyer Emmanuel Tchapo made an application to the High Court to vacate the stay order, arguing that Section 100 of the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections Act did not provide for consultations or adding other candidates to an electoral case.
Said Tchapo: “The electoral complaints of my client had nothing to do with Namasasu. He [Namasasu] argues that he should have been consulted, but the order [for a recount] said all stakeholders must be involved, but he did not come to sorting of boxes on Monday.”
He also argued before Muhara that the order of seven days for Namasasu’s lawyer to commence a fresh case was erroneous because the stay order restraining the recount should have been granted when there was already a case.
By 4pm yesterday, the High Court had not yet made a ruling on the application to strike off the stay order, prompting MEC officials to release its staff who had been waiting for the process since 8am.
MEC spokesperson Sangwani Mwafulirwa said in an interview the commission would recall its staff if there was an outcome from the court to go ahead with the recount. MEC declared Namasasu winner of the parliamentary poll in Lilongwe City South East Constituency with 10 956 against Msungama’s 10 854, a difference of 98 votes.
