Malawian authorities should guarantee conditions conducive for a free and fair vote during the forthcoming presidential election rerun, a rights watchdog said on Wednesday.
Human Rights Watch said the Lilongwe authorities should “immediately develop processes that will ensure free, fair, and safe elections” amid confusion about the actual date for the eagerly awaited rerun.
“They should enforce a range of measures to safeguard citizens against violence, and appropriately prosecute those responsible,” HRW southern Africa director Dewa Mavhinga said.
The rerun was ordered by Malawi’s Constitutional Court in February after the country’s opposition successfully appealed the outcome of last year’s presidential poll which was narrowly won by President Peter Mutharika.
The nullified Mutharika’s victory, citing serious irregularities, and ordered new elections within 150 days. The 150 days expire on July 3.
According to the Malawi Human Rights Defenders Coalition, there has been a spike in politically motivated violence against opposition politicians, human rights activists and journalists since May, with no arrests of those allegedly responsible.
The acts of violence include the alleged petrol-bombing of the Lilongwe offices of the United Transformation Movement led by Vice President Saulos Chilima and the stoning of his convoy while he was en route to a campaign rally.
A number of journalists have been attacked while covering campaign rallies across the country, with the local chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa saying “journalists are increasingly becoming victims of political violence as the country prepares for the fresh presidential elections.”
There is confusion about the date for the rerun, with the Malawi Electoral Commission initially setting July 2 as the poll date but later changing it to June 23 on the advice of parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee.
The country’s Attorney General Kalekeni Kaphale has however argued that the committee misdirected itself since it does not have power to set election dates and that only parliament as a full body has the mandate to do so.
JN/APA