The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has firmly slammed the brakes on what it calls a politically motivated and legally baseless attempt by five opposition parties to force an audit of the country’s Election Management System (EMS).
In a strongly worded letter dated 6th June 2025, MEC Chairperson Justice Annabel Mtalimanja made it clear: the Commission will not entertain political tantrums disguised as audit requests.
The joint proposal — spearheaded by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), UTM, United Democratic Front (UDF), Alliance for Democracy (AFORD), and the People’s Party (PP) — was dismissed outright. MEC said the request was based on “incorrect assumptions,” cited technologies not even used in Malawi’s elections, and posed a serious risk to the integrity and security of the system.
Quoting Section 74(4) of the Malawi Constitution, MEC reminded everyone that it operates independently and is not subject to political interference — even if that interference comes dressed in the language of “transparency.”
“The Electoral Commission shall exercise its powers, functions and duties under this section independent of any direction or interference by other authority or any person,” the Constitution states.
This was not just a rejection. It was a constitutional schooling.
To make matters worse for the opposition, MEC revealed that all known anomalies — from duplicate voter entries to mismatched ID photos — had already been identified and shared with political parties during consultations. Yet none of the parties submitted any formal complaints when they received the final voter register in May.
Which raises the obvious question: Why now?
Political analysts say the answer lies in pre-election panic, especially from the DPP under Peter Mutharika, who continues to cast a long — and increasingly erratic — shadow over the party. Once hailed as a legal mind, Mutharika’s disregard for the rule of law while in office continues to haunt his political legacy. Many say he’s now surrounded by questionable advisors like his former bodyguard Norman Chisale, the controversial Shadrick Namalomba, and former Police IG turned DPP Secretary General Peter Mukhito — none of whom inspire confidence in legal or electoral matters.
The result? A campaign of confusion — an attempt to shake faith in the electoral system before ballots are even printed.
But MEC isn’t having it.
“We are not authorising any external audit,” the Commission said. “We will continue conducting internal system checks using our own mechanisms — as we’ve always done, and as the Constitution allows.”
This move by MEC has been widely praised by governance experts, who warn that allowing political parties to interfere in election operations would set a dangerous precedent and weaken public confidence in democratic institutions.
As one civil society observer bluntly put it: “You cannot demand respect for democracy while disrespecting the very institutions that uphold it.”
The bottom line? The opposition’s attempt to plant seeds of confusion has failed — and spectacularly so.
With elections approaching, Malawians deserve calm, credible leadership — not leaders already preparing excuses for why they’ll lose. Democracy demands maturity. If political parties want to be taken seriously, they must act like it.
Until then, MEC will continue doing what it was created to do: run elections, not babysit political egos.
