Attorney General (AG) Frank Mbeta has moved the High Court of Malawi to allow his office appeal the case involving the relocation of Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) headquarters from Lilongwe to Blantyre.
The AG’s latest move follows an August 20 2026 verdict by High Court Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda dismissing an application by the State to lift a MEC stay on judicial review proceedings in its bid to relocate the MEC headquarters from Lilongwe to Blantyre.
The court ruling also blocked the State from immediately seeking to have the judicial review case thrown out, with the matter remaining at the mercy of Chief Justice (CJ) to certify it as a constitutional matter or not.
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The matter emanates from a June 5 ruling in which Nyirenda granted the opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and three of its legislators an order restraining MEC’s relocation to Blantyre.
But in his skeleton arguments for the matter to go for appeal in the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal, Mbeta argues that Nyirenda wrongly rejected the application for using incorrect provisions and failed to exercise inherent jurisdiction, thereby denying the State an effective constitutional remedy.
Further contends the AG: “The learned judge erred in law and in fact by determining the applicant’s application to vacate leave sua moto without hearing the applicant, thereby holding that the respondents had locus standi as determined in its earlier decision dated 5th June 2026 when in fact, the respondents do not have the required locus standi known to the law.”
In his ruling, Nyirenda argued that it is also trite that inherent jurisdiction should not be called upon just to serve the convenience of a party but to serve the interests of justice.
Previously, MCP lawyer George Kadzipatike told the court that his clients are stakeholders in electoral processes conducted by MEC and that decisions affecting the commission’s independence could negatively affect their rights and legitimate expectations.
The dispute comes as MEC faces operational challenges after postponing fresh parliamentary elections in Nsanje South and Mangochi East, scheduled for September 29 2026, due to lack of electoral materials.
