[Civsoc-mw] Tippex election can't erase Malawians' dissatisfaction

[cammack at mweb.co.za]

 <https://issafrica.org/iss-today> ISS Today   Tippex election can’t erase
Malawians’ dissatisfaction 

Malawi’s opposition and civil society are ready for more protests over the
presidential poll results. 

26 Aug 2019  /  by  <https://issafrica.org/author/liesl-louw-vaudran> Liesl
Louw-Vaudran and  <https://issafrica.org/author/ringisai-chikohomero>
Ringisai Chikohomero 

Malawi is bracing itself for another round of demonstrations this week, the
fourth in a series of poll-related protests that have rocked the relatively
peaceful Southern African country. Demonstrators say they are targeting the
airport and the country’s borders to show their dissatisfaction with the
deteriorating political situation. The government has warned the police and
army to stop any disruption of its national key points.

Malawi has been in turmoil since the 21 May general elections. The
presidential polls were won by a whisker by the incumbent President Peter
Mutharika against a spirited challenge from opposition leader Lazarus
Chakwera and former vice president Saulos Chilima.

The polls have been dubbed the
<https://www.mbc.mw/index.php/opinion/item/8247-ansah-court-will-determine-w
hy-tippex-was-used-she-won-t-resign> Tippex election after numerous results
sheets had figures erased by the correction fluid and different figures
superimposed onto them. The practice has rallied the opposition and ordinary
citizens and fomented suspicions of rigging. The Malawi Electoral Commission
admitted that Tippex was used, but denied any wrongdoing.

The opposition filed a court challenge following all the
<https://www.eisa.org.za/pdf/mal1998commissionsact.pdf> prescripts laid down
in the Electoral Commission Act (2010). The matter is now before the
country’s Constitutional Court. Three months later, a determination on the
case is yet to be made. This has fuelled an already volatile situation with
some restive sections of civil society and the opposition staging massive
nationwide protests amid violence, looting and destruction of property.

SADC rarely speaks out about electoral abuses and has been silent on the
situation in the region

This week’s renewed campaign by Malawi’s human rights coalition is focusing
on getting the Malawi Electoral Commission chairperson Jane Ansah to resign
because activists say she was responsible for the rigging of the results. If
she steps down, it will show that the May elections were indeed not credible
and a rerun should be held.

However other civil society organisations say even if she resigns, fresh
elections won’t be any more free and fair because a new electoral commission
would again be appointed by the current president and accused of bias. Many
want a more thorough review of the electoral system. Such a bill is on the
table but has yet to be signed into law.

One of civil society and the opposition’s main gripes is the
first-past-the-post system that permitted Mutharika to win the presidency
with just 38.57% against Chakwera’s 35.41%. Under the proposed new law, a
run-off would have been held between the two frontrunners.

Emotions are running high and efforts by former president Bakili Muluzi to
get the warring parties to negotiate a truce to prevent further protests
haven’t been successful. The prolonged protests have dampened economic
activity and stalled investment plans. Civil society activists fear that
whatever the outcome of the Constitutional Court case, the opposition and
protesters won’t accept either a confirmation of Mutharika’s win or a rerun.

Observers from SADC will play an important role in the case of disputes in
upcoming elections

One civil society leader in Lilongwe says the political crisis ‘has gone far
beyond just the elections’. ‘If you look at the age of the demonstrators who
are mostly young and unemployed, you notice that the activities are also
about venting their frustration at the simmering state of affairs.’ Just
over 50% of Malawians live below the
<https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/malawi/overview> poverty line.

Some of Malawi’s civil society leaders travelled to Dar es Salaam to attend
a meeting on the margins of the Southern African Development Community’s
(SADC) 39th summit last week. Mutharika was notably absent.

Malawians joined others in civil society calling on SADC to play a role in
ensuring free and fair elections. Some believe the region could help get the
parties in Malawi together by appointing a respected and neutral mediator
who could defuse some of the tension.

It is doubtful, however, whether SADC itself can play a neutral role as an
organisation. It already
<https://issafrica.org/research/policy-brief/elections-and-stability-in-sadc
-the-zimbabwe-case> declared in its interim report that the May elections
were free and fair.

SADC must provide leadership in response to the aspirations of Malawi’s
citizens – not just the heads of state

SADC rarely speaks out about electoral abuses and has been silent on the
situation in the region,
<https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-07-19-principle-or-brotherhood
-making-elections-more-credible-in-sadc/> notably Zimbabwe’s July 2018
elections. At the Dar es Salaam summit delegates also congratulated
President Félix Tshisekedi from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
with a standing
<https://issafrica.org/iss-today/will-this-election-change-the-drc> ovation.
SADC prevented the African Union (AU) from playing a more robust role in
these disputed elections.

In its final
<https://www.sadc.int/files/1915/6614/8772/Communique_of_the_39th_SADC_Summi
t-English.pdf> communiqué, the summit noted the threats of terrorism and
piracy in the DRC and the wider SADC region, but other peace and security
issues were largely absent from the document.

A number of important elections are taking place in SADC in the next few
months, including the hotly contested presidential polls in Mozambique on 15
October and Botswana on 24 October. The role of SADC observers will be
important in the case of disputes over the outcomes.

In view of increasing electoral contestations and subsequent protests in
SADC, the regional body must rethink its approach and provide leadership in
response to the aspirations of citizens and not only those of heads of
state.

In many ways the Malawian 21 May elections failed the key test of
credibility and fairness as enunciated in the SADC Principles and Guidelines
Governing Democratic  <https://www.eisa.org.za/pdf/sadc2015principles.pdf>
Elections. Yet the regional bloc seems unmoved.

Going forward, until August 2020, SADC will be chaired by Tanzanian
president John Magufuli, who has been criticised for his intolerance towards
the media and political opposition. SADC’s Organ on Politics, Defense and
Security Cooperation will be chaired by Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson
Mnangagwa.

Given the accusations of electoral fraud against Zimbabwe’s ruling party, it
is doubtful whether there will be any change in SADC’s approach to
governance and democracy issues in the coming year. But SADC risks a
legitimacy crisis and a challenge to its utility if it ignores the voices of
ordinary citizens.

Meanwhile Malawians continue to take to the streets for greater transparency
and a shake-up in its electoral system – with or without the help of SADC
and the international community.

 <https://twitter.com/lieslvaudran> Liesl Louw-Vaudran, Senior Researcher
and Ringisai Chikohomero, Researcher, ISS Pretoria

In South Africa,  <https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/> Daily Maverick has
exclusive rights to re-publish ISS Today articles. For media based outside
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