Former MEC chair Ansah joins politics
Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) former chairperson Jane Ansah has joined frontline politics and is seeking to contest as a member of Parliament for Ntcheu North West in the September 16 2025 General Elections.
Ansah, a retired Justice of Appeal, confirmed her political aspirations in an interview with The Nation.
“Yes I am standing on an independent ticket,” she said.
Ansah said she has joined politics to make a contribution to the realisation of the right to development which is enshrined in the Bill of Rights.
“I am a Malawian with a home. I see that I can help to make a difference at that level now that I am retired,” she said.
Commenting on Ansah’s move, Ernest Thindwa, a political scientist, said Ansah is exercising her constitutional right.
He said: “Citizens, especially those that are well-informed should be encouraged to join politics to enhance quality and effective competition in the political establishment.”
Another political analyst, Wonderful Mkhutche, said it is a welcome development that Ansah wants to serve Malawi in a different capacity.
Ansah was the country’s first female Attorney General, but is widely known for her role as the head of MEC during the 2019 Tripartite Elections.
She resigned from her role as MEC chairperson on May 21 2020, ahead of the court-sanctioned Fresh Presidential Election held on June 23 2020.
A five-judge panel of the High Court of Malawi sitting as a Constitutional Court nullified the 2019 Presidential Election results over irregularities following a petition by UTM Party president Saulos Chilima and Malawi Congress Party president Lazarus Chakwera. Both the nullification and call for fresh election were upheld by the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal.
In July 2020, Ansah left the country for the United Kingdom.
