Reflections on Malawi's 2019 elections court decisions
Friday, July 10, 2020
In February 2020, the Constitutional Court of Malawi in a monumental 500-page judgement annulled the country’s May 2019 presidential election and ordered a re-run within 150 days, citing widespread polling irregularities that included the unlawful use of correction fluid on ballot papers.
The court also found that only about a quarter of the results sheets were verified, and concluded that such conduct amounted to “serious malpractice that undermined the elections”.
The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...