Malawi could for the first time ever hold the presidential election without international observers.
Head of European Union (EU) mission to Malawi has confirmed that his organization would not be sending its team as they have done in the past elections. He said the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has not invited the EU to observe the election.
In earlier interviews, the EU said that it has directed all its resources in the fight against coronavirus.
African Union and Sadc officials were also reluctant to comment on the matter, saying it was difficult to say whether they would send their teams to the country because of unknown dates for the election.
Officials from Commonwealth say with the lockdown in place and suspension of flights, it would be difficult to send its observer team into Malawi for the June 23, 2020 poll.
The country’s enstranged vice-president and UTM Party president Saulos Chilima said the role of international election observers should be redefined before the court sanctioned fresh election, saying the country does not need what he called “election tourists.”
EU, AU, Sadc, Commonwealth and other observer teams certified the May 21, 2020 tripartite election free, fair, credible and transparent but the Constitutional Court annulled it on grounds that it was marred with massive and widespread anomalies.
Chilima said Malawi has the capacities to monitor and observe its own election.
Many commentators have echoed Chilima’s statement which puts on trial the international observers who moved fast to sanitize fraud,”alleging that international groups had favored “status quo and ‘stability’ ahead of credible elections.”
The five High Court judge panel, seating as ConCourt, ordered the fresh election within 150 days from which expires on July after declaring that President Peter Mutharika was not duly elected as State President. The judgement was upheld by Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal.
