Election results Friday—Mbendera

The High Court in Blantyre will determine whether the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) should announce the results of the May 20 Tripartite Elections on Friday when the eight-day window expires.

 
Briefing the press today at around 19:30 at the National Tally Centre in Blantyre, MEC chairperson Maxon Mbendera said although the commission has finished tallying all the results for the presidential election, and the law obliges them to announce the results by Friday, they will wait for the outcome from the court process.

 
“The law requires the commission to announce its determination of the national election results within eight days from the last day of polling. Therefore the Commission has a legal duty to announce the results not later than Friday, 30 May 2014.
“However we are all aware of the legal controversy that has surrounded the possibility of the Commission conducting a recount. At this stage we await clarify from the Courts on this issue,” said Mbendera who is also a judge of the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal.

 
As of today, Wednesday, he said, the commission had registered 287 complaints of which it has processed 188.
Mbendera added: “If some of these complaint remain unaddressed by the day the results are determined, the complainant will be free to proceed to petition the High Court of Malawi.”
Read more about this and other election stories tomorrow in THE NATION.