Malawi election crisis

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LazyLion

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Malawi election officials have had to resort to fax and email to tally votes from this week's election after the electronic system broke down, the chief elections officer said Thursday, delaying the release of results.

The system "is refusing to take the information from the ground where our data clerks are stationed to send the results," chief elections officer Willie Kalonga told AFP two days after the vote.

As a "back-up solution," officials in the southern African country's 28 districts were sending the results manually via fax and email to the national elections centre in Blantyre.

The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has yet to release preliminary results after Tuesday's tight-run polls, which pit incumbent Joyce Banda against her rival and predecessor's brother Peter Mutharika.

The military was deployed to restore calm after irate voters set alight poll stations in protest at them opening up to 10 hours late, with election materials unavailable in places.

Voting spilled into an unscheduled second day Wednesday at 13 voting stations, and thousands queued to cast their ballot.

Commonwealth observers noted "serious shortcomings" in the distribution of ballot papers, boxes, forms, ink and lamps for voting after dark.

"A considerable number of polling stations opened late on account of these shortcomings," it said in an interim report Thursday.

But the Commonwealth deemed the vote "peaceful, orderly and transparent" overall, despite "isolated incidents of violence" owing to frustration with the delays.

"The polling environment was generally conducive to the free expression of will by the electorate," it concluded.

Around 7.5 million people were eligible to vote in the fifth democratic elections since the end of dictatorship 20 years ago.

The MEC will only announce results when 30 percent of the votes have been counted, and is currently "not anywhere in the neighbourhood" of that figure, MEC chairman Maxon Mbendera said Wednesday.

Banda, 64, began her term as a darling of the West, feted as one of Africa's rare women leaders.

Her government has since been ensnared in a $30 million corruption scandal dubbed "Cashgate", but she has claimed credit for uncovering the fraud.

Critics say the funds went into her party's war-chest.

For 74-year-old Mutharika, victory would mean an end to his trial for treason.

He is accused of trying to conceal his brother's death in 2012 by secretly flying his body to South Africa to prevent Banda -- who was vice president at the time -- from being sworn in as interim leader.


Source : Sapa-AFP /kd/jje
Date : 22 May 2014 10:12
 
Last edited:
MALAWI MINISTER COMMITS SUICIDE AFTER ELECTIONS

A Malawian deputy minister on Thursday committed suicide, apparently over losing his parliamentary seat in this week's general election, Zodiak broadcasting station and other media reported.

Outgoing deputy Local Government Minister Godfrey Kamanya shot himself in his home. Official results of Tuesday's election are still to be announced. But preliminary election results aired on radio stations indicated Kamanya was faring badly in the poll and was likely to lose his parliamentary seat.

In a suicide note now held by police, Kamanya reportedly said he took his life because of misunderstandings related to politics. He also outlined how his wealth would be distributed and asked incumbent President Joyce Banda, under whom he served, to help pay school fees for his child.

"We had to break the door to his kitchen where he had locked himself up," Kamanya's friend Jemoth Chilapondwa - also a member of Banda's People's Party - told Zodiak.

"We found him lying dead in a pool of blood. Police will do their investigations and are the ones who can disclose more on this," Chilapondwa said.

Kamanya's death is a blow to Banda, who is facing three strong candidates in the tightly contested poll. They are Peter Mutharika, brother of late president Bingu wa Mutharika; Lazarus Chakwera, an evangelical pastor; and Atupele Muluzi, son of former president Bakili Muluzi.

Nearly 1,300 candidates also contested the 194 seats in parliament. Several broadcasters said Mutharika and Chakwera had taken an early lead.

Banda's rule has been tainted by a massive corruption scandal known as Cashgate, which led to donors slashing aid that had made up 40 per cent of Malawi's budget. Voting ended officially on Tuesday, but some people were still casting their ballots Thursday at polling stations which had opened late.


Source : Sapa-dpa /kd/th
Date : 22 May 2014 12:04
 
MALAWI PRESIDENT SAYS 'SERIOUS IRREGULARITIES' IN ELECTION

Malawi's President Joyce Banda on Thursday called for an immediate manual audit of this week's election results, alleging serious irregularities as the electoral commission reported its vote tallying system had collapsed.

"It has come to my attention that there (are) some serious irregularities in the counting and announcement of results in some parts of the country," she told reporters.


Source : Sapa-AFP /kd/th
Date : 22 May 2014 12:05
 
PRESIDENT CLAIMS 'SERIOUS IRREGULARITIES' IN MALAWI VOTE
by Felix MPONDA

Malawi's President Joyce Banda on Thursday claimed "serious irregularities" in this week's highly-charged election, which her main rival -- also her predecessor's brother -- claimed to have won.

Banda said the vote has seen ballot tampering, presiding officers arrested, people voting multiple times and the collapse of the computerised voter counting system.

"It has come to my attention that there (are) some serious irregularities in the counting and announcement of results in some parts of the country," she said, calling for an "immediate manual audit of the whole process".

Malawi's political parties held a crisis meeting to discuss the situation on Thursday night, although the head of the country's electoral body said that while there had been "challenges of slow transmission of results", the vote "had not been compromised".

This is the first major electoral test for 64-year-old former vice-president Banda, who came to power when president Bingu wa Mutharika died in office two years ago.

After Mutharika's corruption-tainted rule, Banda was feted by the West as one of Africa's rare women leaders, even receiving a high profile visit from then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

But her government has since been ensnared in a $30 million government corruption scandal dubbed "Cashgate" that has seen foreign donors freeze badly needed aid.

Amid unconfirmed reports that Banda is trailing in the polls to Peter Mutharika, the former president's brother, she warned the media against "creating a false impression of the possible winners".

Earlier on Thursday a junior minister in Banda's government Godfrey Kamanya committed suicide, apparently because of the election result.

"He shot himself this morning at around 3:00 am," at his house in Lilongwe, police spokesman Kelvin Maigwa told AFP. "He lost elections as an MP."

Voting had been scheduled to take place on Tuesday, but was extended through to Thursday when delays of up to ten hours prompted riots in the commercial capital Blantyre, where the army was deployed.

But Banda's request for an audit was rebuffed by the country's electoral commission chief, who told AFP that despite problems with the electronic counting system, the tally was continuing manually.

Maxon Mbendera insisted the election was "valid" and said Banda's claim was caused by "desperation".

"The case for recounting is not made out. Perhaps they should go to court," he said.

He told politicians at Thursday's emergency meeting that the results system "had not been compromised and the results transmitted are secure". He also said all parties would be able to "verify the data received".

Election observers from the European Union have described "considerable organisational shortcomings" in the vote and "isolated incidents of unrest".

They have so far not given a verdict on the fairness of the poll, but said the election commission had "acted impartially throughout".

The African Union concluded that voting was "conducted in a largely transparent manner".

Ahead of the vote, analysts had placed Banda as the favourite, despite a scandal over taxpayer funds being siphoned off into the hands of government officials.

Her main competitor, 74-year-old Peter Mutharika, was allowed to run in the election despite facing a trial for treason.

He is accused of trying to stage a constitutional coup by concealing his brother's death in office, and flying his body around Africa as he plotted ways of preventing Banda from being sworn in.

Mutharika told local radio station Capital FM his party had a lead over Banda and her People's Party (PP).

"PP should not feel scared when I become president. We'll not prosecute them; I don't have intentions of victimising anybody."

He claimed the army and police had on Wednesday arrived at his house to conduct a search, but did not have a warrant.

"The sending of the army to my house is completely uncalled for because the army is there to protect the country and not to intimidate individuals," he told reporters on Thursday.

Mutharika claimed police have issued an arrest warrant for his running mate Saulos Chilima who is a former CEO with the telecommunications giant Airtel.

He denied suggestions his party could have been involved in any electoral skullduggery.

"I don't see how an opposition party can rig elections," he said.


Source : Sapa-AFP /mr/lp
Date : 22 May 2014 23:34
 
MALAWI PRESIDENT SCRAPS ELECTION, ORDERS NEW VOTE

(AP Photo BLT101-0520140918)

Malawi's president says she is nullifying an election because of alleged irregularities and has ordered that a new vote should be held within 90 days in the southern African nation.

President Joyce Banda also said Saturday she would not take part in the new elections.

Maxon Mbendera, head of Malawi's election commission, said he was consulting the attorney general about the president's order. The election results have not been officially announced.

Banda faced a field of 12 candidates in Tuesday's election, which was troubled by scattered unrest. Banda was vice president and came to power in 2012 following the death of President Bingu wa Mutharika. Mutharika's brother, Peter, was a prominent challenger to Banda.

Malawi is heavily dependent on foreign aid and its government has been marred by corruption scandals.


Source : Sapa-AP /sdv
Date : 24 May 2014 14:13
 
MALAWI TO RECOUNT VOTES AFTER FRAUD CONCERN BY JOSEPH KAYIRA, DPA

Vote counting continued Sunday in Malawi after this week's general election despite an attempt by President Joyce Banda to stop the counting and call a new election within 90 days.

The initial count after Tuesday's vote was to be followed by a recount to make sure the result was not influenced by fraud, as alleged by Banda. The president said Saturday she had ordered the electoral commission to stop counting the votes in order to hold a new election in which she would no longer contest the presidency.

But the electoral commission, the Law Society of Malawi and the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) - the forerunner in the poll - obtained a court injunction ordering the vote count to continue. The court said only the electoral commission could deal with issues related to the elections and that one of the candidates could not nullify the vote.

"Nothing in the constitution gives the president powers to cancel an election. This is clearly illegal, unconstitutional and not acceptable," DPP candidate Peter Mutharika said. "There is no legal basis for stopping the election. We have become a laughing stock and the sooner it ends the better for us," Mutharika said.

"I appeal to the president to ask people to be calm and I hope she abandons the path she is taking, because we don't need to take this country on a path of violence," he added.

Electoral commission chairman Maxon Mbendera said it had agreed with the political parties that concerns over fraud can be resolved by a recount. "The commission (has) reported that in the course of vote tallying, there are cases being discovered where the total number of votes cast is more than the total registered voters for the centre," Mbendera said late Saturday.

"There will be an implementation plan for the recount of the ballot papers early next week," he added. The recount does not mean the electoral commission will abandon the current vote counting exercise. "This will be pursued to the end, but results will not be announced until the vote recount outcome is known and compared with" the original count, Mbendera said.

At least 30 per cent of the votes have been counted so far, showing that Banda - leader of the People's Party (PP) - was trailing behind two other candidates. The front-runner was Peter Mutharika, brother of the late president Bingu wa Mutharika, followed by Lazarus Chakwera, an evangelical pastor from the Malawi Congress Party (MCP).

Malawi's election was chaotic, with people still voting two days after election day because of delays in the distribution of voting material. In the commercial capital Blantyre, angry voters set a polling station alight. Banda alleged the vote had been marred by rigging, multiple voting and computer hacking.

Banda rose from the vice presidency to the presidency after Bingu wa Mutharika's sudden death in 2012. She won applause from the West for her austerity policies, but her rule was later tainted by a massive corruption scandal, which led to donors slashing aid that had made up 40 per cent of Malawi's budget.


Source : Sapa-dpa /kd/lp
Date : 25 May 2014 14:37
 
ELECTION BOSS URGES END TO MALAWI VOTE CHAOS by Felix Mponda

Malawi's poll watchdog pressed ahead with a troubled vote recount on Tuesday in a bid to show the country can resolve a deep political crisis constitutionally and save its young democracy.

Since the chaotic vote a week ago President Joyce Banda has attempted to declare the vote "null and void" and court orders and injunctions have flown back and forth.

She has claimed the vote was marred by "serious irregularities" and called for a new ballot within 90 days, saying she would not take part.

But it is not clear that she has the constitutional power to make such a move and a court ordered the vote count to continue.

Electoral commission chair Maxon Mbendera late Monday urged Malawians to stay calm, saying a full audit could take up to 30 days.

"Allow me to appeal to the country, it is time to build this nation," said Mbendera. "We must find the way forward in this delicate situation."

Mbendera said 95 percent of the results had been recorded and around 100 of the 275 registered complaints still had to be addressed.

In some places the number of votes cast is reportedly greater than the number of voters.

Mbendera said the results for the disputed centres had been isolated and "we are examining them closely to check for possible errors".

Analysts have praised Malawi's electoral commission and other institutions for their handling of the crisis, perhaps the most serious since Malawi's independence in 1963.

"Despite the political twists and turns, the drama, and the general public uneasiness, I think Malawi has demonstrated, again, that it has strong, respected and impartial institutions," said Jeffrey Smith of the Washington-based Robert F Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights.

Opposition leader Peter Mutharika, who on Friday with about a third of the votes counted led with 42 percent of the unofficial tally, has opposed a recount.

On Saturday Mutharika avoided claiming victory but said the "people have spoken and this was a free and credible election".

Banda's supporters believe the vote was far from fair, and fear the 74-year-old brother of late former president Bingu wa Mutharika may be attempting to steal power.

Peter Mutharika already faces treason charges for attempting to conceal his brother's death in office two years ago, as part of an alleged plot to stop Banda -- then vice-president -- from assuming power as directed by the constitution.

When voting was scheduled to begin last Tuesday the opening of some polling stations was delayed by as much as 10 hours because voting materials did not arrive, prompting isolated violence that saw at least one centre touched.

The United Nations, European Union and United States have called for calm.

"We join the African Union and the international community in calling for calm as the Malawi Election Commission works to tally the vote and to resolve any challenges or complaints," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement.

But while the army was deployed to ensure tensions did not spill over, instances of violence have been isolated.

Whatever the declared result it is likely that there will be more legal wrangling, according to Dimpho Motsamai, an analyst at the Pretoria-based Institute of Security Studies.

Still Motsamai said the current period in Malawi represented a "worrisome period of uncertainty".

The election imbroglio is unlikely to help Malawi's dire economic problems.

After taking office Banda oversaw the devaluation of the kwacha currency by 50 percent, the easing of foreign exchange restrictions, and the raising of fuel prices and cutting of subsidies.

That helped restore an IMF credit line, but the country remains overly dependent on agriculture and foreign aid to survive.

But since then a "Cashgate" scandal, which saw corrupt officials steal around $30 million dollars of state funds, has seen vital foreign aid frozen.

Pop diva Madonna has even weighed in on the election amid a long-running spat over her charity work in the country.

The superstar, who adopted two children from the southern African nation, accused Banda of corruption and of failing its people.

"I am so sad to see that because of the actions of their president Malawians will continue to suffer," the American singer said.

"In my philanthropic work I have seen the depths of corruption in Malawi's government. I can only hope that change will come. Malawians deserve so much better."


Source : Sapa-AFP /ma/ar/jje
Date : 27 May 2014 10:52
 
Malawi Election : Additional Background

Major Political Parties

MCP : Malawi Congress Party (formerly the Nyasaland African Congress) - Party formed in 1959 by Orton Chirwa and others in a bid to get independence from the British. Current presidential candidate is Lazarus Chakwera. Party was run by Hastings Kamuzu Banda from then until his death in 1997. Won all seats in the Nyasaland elections in 1961. Led the country to Independence in 1964, and Malawi became a republic in 1966 following which it banned all other parties and declared Kamuzu Banda as life president in the early 1970's. Banda led a despotic rule for the next 30 years, suppressing political opposition and freedoms of speech and association. Opponents were jailed or killed Finally under international pressure (after the end of the cold war), a referendum was held in 1993, which ushered in the era of multipartyism and democratic elections in Malawi. MCP lost the 1994 election to UDF, but until today maintains a strong level of support amongst the Chewas of Central Region of Malawi and typically wins between a quarter to a third of the votes.


UDF : United Democratic Front - A party formed by Bakili Muluzi and many others in 1992 to ensure that MCP did not win the first multiparty elections held in 1994. Current presidential candidate is Atupele (Austin) Muluzi , the son of Bakili. They won the first multiparty elections with Bakili Mulizi as president, who stood again in 1999 elections and won again. Muluzi recieved criticism from within and nationally for attempting to change the constitution to allow him to stand again in the 2004 elections, but the bill was narrowly defeated in parliament after some of his own party members did not attend to vote. Muluzi then decided to appoint an outsider, Bingu Wa Mutharika as his successor despite strong opposition from within his own party. UDF successfully won the 2004 elections and Bingu became president. After a year however he formed his own party DPP, some say due to interference by Bakili in his role as president and loyalty issues within the UDF

DPP : Democratic Progressive Party — Party established in 2005 by late president Bingu Wa Mutharika after being elected under the banner of UDF, then falling out with UDF patriarch Bakili Muluzi. Winners of the 2009 elections. Current leader and presidential candidate Peter Mutharika. Joyce was the DPP Vice President in the successful 2009 election. Joyce Banda left the party to form PP after a succession battle with Bingu. Bingu wanted to install his brother Peter to succeed him, yet Joyce was unwilling to relinquish her post of VP as she wanted to be the successor. Bingu's term limits had been reached so he was unable to stand in another election as president.

PP : People's Party (PP) — Founded in 2011 by current president Joyce Banda's party, with her as the presidential candidate . She inherited the presidency when previous president Bingu Wa Mutharika died of a heart attack a couple of years ago. At the time, she was Vice President , but was no longer of Bingu's DPP as there was a succession battle in the DPP.

Most other parties are small in comparison to these four, either due to their specific regional or tribe specific appeal ,have developed as splinter groups of the above parties or are very much developed as one man parties. These include PPM, Aford, NDA, RP, NRP
 
I sometimes think there should be an independent international voting organisation that should be in charge of all countries elections, but then I start wondering how corrupt it will become and forgo the whole idea.
 
Malawi Election : Additional Background

Regional / Tribal Demographics

Historically, Malawi has been split up into 3 regions. North, Central and South. The South and Central Regions are by far the largest in terms of population, with 90% of the population residing there.

Northern Region : Consists mainly of people of Tonga and Tumbuka origin and descendants of Ngonis from South Africa. Has the lowest population by far in terms of population, and has traditionally voted for Aford, a party started by Chakufwa Chihana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakufwa_Chihana) which went into decline over a period of time . In the last elections large parts of the region has switched to DPP. The people of the North were discriminated against during the Banda era, but have still maintained the highest literacy rate in the country. Largest city is Mzuzu

Central Region : Homeland of the Chewa or 'Nyanja' people. Benefited greatly from the rule of the MCP and Kamuzu Banda. Therefore have largely maintained their support for MCP over the 20 years of democracy. It is from this region that the MCP continually gets a disproportional percentage of the vote, translating to 20-30%+ of the national vote. Largest city is Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi

Southern Region : Consists of the Yao and Lomwe people amongst others and has the highest population in the country. Typically the party who wins the South will lead the country. Voted solidly UDF (largely a Southern party) during the first 3 elections, but support has been split between the UDF and DPP in the last elections, with DPP very strong in the south and UDF strong in the north of the Southern region. Voting tends to be along tribal lines, with the leaders of the two parties originating in the South and the North respectively. The commercial capital of the country Blantyre is the largest city
 
Malawi Election : Additional Background

Will provide links to the characters, past and present who have had some sort of influence on the political landscape, and will fill in with some 'insider' details at some point. Please note that the wikipedia links i have put in are not all factual or accurate, so read them with a pinch of salt, as you would with anything on the internet.

Persons of Interest

Bingu wa Mutharika: The last elected president of Malawi. Bingu won by a large margin in the last elections. And although he passed away in 2012, he has had the most influence on the turbulent state of affairs in Malawi politics in recent times.

He was the 'chosen one' in the 2004 elections when he was brought in from the outside by UDF leader Bakili Muluzi as the presidential candidate for the most popular party at the time. This introduced cracks within the UDF, as a lot of the party stalwarts felt ignored and robbed by the imposition of Bingu. He had one of the most successful and economically productive stints as president during his first term, while at the same time ditching the UDF and starting his own party the DPP.

He was successfully reelected as president in the 2009 elections with a large majority, the people of Malawi were expecting more development and progress. However, claims of rampant corruption, cronyism and despotic tendencies started creeping in. He had soured relations with major donors, and was unilaterally making decision at a party and national level which some considered beyond his purview.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bingu_wa_Mutharika

Joyce Banda : Leader of PP , and current president of Malawi. Was voted in as Vice President as a DPP candidate in the 2009 elections, and sworn in 2012 after the death of the president at the time Bingu wa Mutharika. Her tenure has been marred with controversy, with a devaluation of the currency shortly after she took power and more damaging with claims of her involvement in the 'cashgate' scandal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_Hill_Cashgate_scandal )
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyce_Banda

Peter Mutharika : Current leader of DPP -Was the chosen leader of president Bingu wa Mutharika as the presidential candidate of the DPP for the 2014 elections, however factionalism within the DPP and the refusal of Joyce Banda to resign her VP post caused her to be fired from the party in 2011. Peter has been accused of being a US national (dual nationality is prohibited in Malawi) , and for involvement in an attempt to bypass the constitution when his brother Bingu suffered a cardiac arrest.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Mutharika


More to follow....will edit this post
 
Purply said:
I sometimes think there should be an independent international voting organisation that should be in charge of all countries elections, but then I start wondering how corrupt it will become and forgo the whole idea.
Click to expand...

I have always thought it would be a good idea to have a "proper" independent electoral commission.

Countries that are part of an international trading organisation form a type of body which consists of members of all these countries and they oversee the actual elections in the countries that are part of that group. The control body can then score the country on its elections based on certain criteria and depending on the score, the country gets certain benefits in the trading with the other countries within the trading organisation. The scorecard then could also be used to ascertain the amount of aid to be paid into countries that require aid from other countries within the trading organisation.
 
MALAWI VOTE 'CREDIBLE' DESPITE TROUBLES: ELECTORAL CHIEF

Malawi's presidential elections were free, fair and credible despite irregularities, the electoral chief declared Thursday as he prepared to release results of the disputed vote.

"I can comfortably say this election was free and fair... it was also transparent, it was also, in my assessment, credible," the electoral commission chief Maxon Mbendera said.

The credibility of elections in the small southern African country has been thrown into question after anomalies discovered in dozens of the votes from over 4,000 polling stations.

The troubles have spilled into the courts where the opposition Malawi Congress Party, whose presidential candidate Lazarus Chakwera was running second in preliminary results, is seeking a recount.

But the Democratic Progressive Party led by Peter Mutharika, who was leading the vote in early results, has teamed up with the electoral commission lawyers to prevent the 30-day extension for a recount.

Admitting having come across evidence of "anomalies", the electoral commission chief said 99 percent of the voting was "trouble-free" and that the people had expressed their will.

The elections body vowed it would continue to prepare to announce the presidential results on Friday in accordance with the law unless the court rules otherwise.

"Whatever the court directs, that we will do," said Mbendera.

By law, the commission is obliged to release the results within eight days of the vote and that deadline lapses midnight on Friday.

Earlier Thursday the court case had run into hitches after a judge initially appointed to hear the case, Healy Potani, had to recuse himself because his brother is a member of the electoral commission.

A replacement judge Kenyatta Nyirenda was later appointed and is expected to make a ruling on Friday.

Meanwhile, President Joyce Banda, who was shown to be running third, last week called the vote "null and void", saying it was marred by "serious irregularities", and called for fresh elections.

The elections chief insisted "the outcome of the result does not really matter, the process took place in the purview of everyone who cared to check it."

The African Union has concluded that voting was conducted in a "largely transparent manner".


Source : Sapa-AFP /kd/ks
Date : 29 May 2014 22:47
 
TENSIONS RISE AS MALAWI AWAITS RESULTS OF DISPUTED VOTE

Malawi police fired teargas to disperse dozens of rioters in the south-eastern city of Mangochi on Friday, as the country nervously awaited the release of results from last week's disputed presidential vote.

Over a hundred people "are burning tyres along the roads of Mangochi township", police spokesman for the city Rodrick Maida told AFP.

"They are saying the election was rigged. We are dispersing them using teargas," he added.

Police said the protesters in Mangochi were members of the People's Party of President Joyce Banda, who is trailing in third place in early results from the election, police sources told AFP.

Others were from the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), whose candidate Lazarus Chakwera is currently in second position and is also calling for a recount.

Early results show a lead for Peter Mutharika, 74, the brother of former president Bingu wa Mutharika.

Hundreds of kilometres to the west, anti-riot police were stationed at strategic areas of the largest city Blantyre, as the High Court was due to rule on whether results should be postponed.

The electoral commission has admitted having come across evidence of "anomalies", but its boss Maxon Mbendera said 99 percent of the voting was "trouble-free".

He has vowed to release the results by the end of Friday in compliance with the electoral laws, unless the court intervenes to force a 30-day extension for a recount.

But Mutharika's Democratic Progressive Party has teamed up with the electoral commission lawyers to prevent a 30-day extension.

Malawi was forced to deploy the army on the first day of polling last week after delays in opening the polls led voters to riot and burn down at least two stations.

The violence marred an election that was seen as the first true test of Banda's scandal-tainted rule.


Source : Sapa-AFP /ma/jk
Date : 30 May 2014 11:52
 
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