Top court rejects Mutharika's poll appeal

President Peter Mutharika on Friday lost an appeal against Malawi’s presidential election. The Supreme Court of Appeals in Lilongwe upheld the Constitutional Court ruling that Mutharika was not duly elected in the 2019 elections and that fresh presidential polls should be held. Mutharika and Malawi Electoral Commission were challenging the Constitutional Court ruling which nullified the May 2019 poll. In February, it ruled that fresh presidential elections should be held because there were several irregularities in the voting process. A report on the IoL site notes that Vice-President Saulos Chilima and Malawi Congress Party leader Lazarus Chakwera had challenged the outcome. In Friday’s ruling, the court said ‘the various breaches undermined the duties of the commission and grossly undermined rights of voters’. Al Jazeera reports that it said ‘none of the candidates obtained a majority’ and noted that the commission should not have appealed, ‘as doing so showed it was taking sides’. ‘The conduct of the electoral commission left a lot to be desired,’ Justice Frank Kapanda said. The fresh presidential elections will be held on 2 July.

Full Al Jazeera report

Full IoL report