Ten months after the September 16 2025 General Election, the courts are yet to decide post-election petitions for seven of the 229 constituencies, a situation a legal scholar says breaches the law.
While the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) declared the respective members of Parliament (MPs) as victors in the elections and are already in the National Assembly, their mandates remain contested in court.
For the respective constituencies, they are in suspense on whether their ‘elected’ representatives will run the course or the courts will nullify their election.
In separate interviews yesterday, legal experts and governance actors queried the effectiveness of democracy, the rule of law and the cost to the taxpayer footing the bill for a potentially illegitimate mandate.
The analysts The Nation interviewed yesterday argued that unresolved petitions do not just delay justice, but also strikes at the heart of Malawi’s democracy.
They further contended that when representation is uncertain, citizens are denied accountability, communities lack a clear voice in development decisions and public trust in elections erodes. The seven still in court
The Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal yesterday heard the matter of Jackson Allie Daudi Mataka and Abubakar Ali Mbaya v MEC and Franscesca Theula Masamba for Mangochi East. The court has since nullified the results of the parliamentary race in the constituency.
does not invalidate work.
| Nation
On the other hand, the same court is yet to deliver judgement in Martha Ngwira and MEC v Henri Mumba for Mzimba Hora, six months after the hearing closed on January 21 2026.
Pending judgement in the High Court of Malawi are cases of Brian Chidzanja Mwale, Shepherd Bokosi and Bobbex Chinthu v MEC for Kasungu West; Walapa and two others v Juliana Kaduya and MEC for Lilongwe City Masintha; and Francis Billiat v MEC and another for Mangochi Lutende.
The case of George Charles Zulu v Alfred Gangata and MEC for Lilongwe City Mtandire-Mtsiriza and Gladys Ganda v Abdul Bila Karim and MEC for Nsanje Lalanje are yet to be heard.
For voters in the affected areas, this means development priorities, reformed K5 billion Constituency Development Fund (CDF) concerns, parliamentary oversight and representation being channelled through office holders whose legitimacy is yet to be decided.
A breach of law and democratic principle
Under Order 19 Rule 17 of the Courts (High Court) (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2017, “the court shall deliver its decision within 14 days of the conclusion of the hearing of the petition
or application”. This means that the courts could be in breach of own laws.
In an interview, University of Malawi (Unima) law professor Garton Kamchedzera said the failure is “abhorrent to representative democracy.”
“It is, in the law, a serious breach to continue to have cases in an election held in September last year still pending. It is a dereliction of duty on part of the courts, possibly explicable by a slipshod approach to justice and the law,” he said.
Section 40 of the Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to participate in the affairs of government, including the right to vote and representation.
However, when that representation is in doubt for 10 months, experts argue that the right gets compromised in practice.
Politician-cum-private practice lawyer Kamuzu Chibambo put it bluntly: “Justice delayed is justice denied. Our courts have to that extent been a major let down. Not only are they a disappointment to the actual litigants, but the nation as a whole.”
In an earlier interview, lawyer Justin Dzonzi, who is representing Mumba in the Mzimba Hora case, said lawyers often avoid pushing judges for fear of “adverse judgement”.
History repeating, trust eroding
Malawi has seen this before and voters paid the price.
For example, after the 2019 Tripartite Elections, MEC declared Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidates Anna Kachikho for Phalombe North as well as Francis Kasaila for Nsanje Central and Esther Mcheka Chilenje for Nsanje North as winners.
However, the courts later nullified the elections on February 4 2021 for the Nsanje polls while Kachiko’s seat was nullified in June 2020.
Kasaila and Mcheka-Chilenje lost the subsequent by-elections while Kachikho withdrew during by-elections held on March 30 2021.
In Balaka Mulunguzi, independent Ireen Mammbala was declared winner by MEC in the 2025 General Election, but the court overturned it. She later lost the June 30 2026 by-election to DPP candidate James Makhumula.
Each case left constituents spending months or years with representation that was later declared invalid.
MEC spoke s p e r son Sangwani Mwafulirwa said in a written response that a court nullification “does not invalidate any work of the former legislator while in office” while Chibambo added that salaries already paid “cannot be recovered”.
Legal finality does little to restore voter confidence
Centre for Multiparty Democracy executive director Boniface Chibwana said in an interview that when cases delay, costs keep skyrocketing.
Legitimacy, stability at risk
Unima electoral politics expert Gift Sambo warned that the delays put Parliament’s legitimacy under question.
He proposed specialised election tribunals with strict timelines.
Human Rights Defenders Coalition chairperson Michael Kaiyatsa said it is “difficult to justify” the current situation.
He said: “MEC has a responsibility to ensure that elections are managed in a credible manner that minimises disputes. The Judiciary has a responsibility to hear and determine election cases within a reasonable time.”
Section 101(9) of the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections Act provides for petitions and appeals, but sets no binding timeline for final determination, leaving it to rules made by the Chief Justice.
Judiciary spokesperson Ruth Mputeni said the Judiciary had faced “parties seeking adjournments, counsel not taking steps to proceed, cases that came later than others and logistical challenges”.
However, Mwafulirwa pushed the responsibility back to the courts, noting that under Section 101(9) of the law, “the Chief Justice may make rules for the practice and procedure for election petitions and appeals”.
A democracy on hold
The implications go beyond seven seats. Every law passed, every budget approved and every oversight question asked in Parliament in the last 10 months has included decisions from MPs whose mandate is still being tested.
