back to voting booth

…Malawi sets date for fresh elections after annulment

parliament has passed a law that sets May 19, 2020 as the date for fresh presidential elections.

Last May’s polls, which handed victory to President Peter Mutharika, were nullified earlier this month by the Constitutional Court citing widespread irregularities.

The challenge was brought by two opposition candidates - Lazarus Chakwera and Saulos hilima whose lawyers

said some tallying forms had been doctored with Tipp , and that some polling officials sent in the wrong copy of the results sheet to the main tallying centre.

The new law passed on Monday includes provision for a run-off presidential election to be held if no candidate wins a percent plus one ma ority, Malawi reports.

t also reports that parliament passed a bill to ensure that the electoral commission s chairperson is first nominated by the udicial ervice ommission, then appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Public ppointments ommittee.

ther members of the electoral commission will be appointed on recommendation of the Public ppointments ommittee following nominations from political parties represented in parliament, Malawi adds.

Meanwhile, Guinea issau s ational lectoral ommission is to recount the votes from the second round of the presidential election that too place on ecember .

The commission will convene permanent and non permanent members of the ational lectoral ommission, as well as the representatives of Presidentelect maro issoco mbal and omingos im es Pereira. The electoral body said mbal had won percent of the votes against Pereira s percent.

State-run Guinea-Bissau News Agency said the recount is meant to comply with a upreme ourt ruling that has raised uncertainty about the president-elect’s swearing in on ebruary .

The electoral commission had previously said that it had exhausted its authority in the matter of the electoral process, adding that there was nothing else it could do.

e new law passed on Monday includes provision for a run-o presidential election to be held if no candidate wins a 50 percent plus one majority.