Court challenge to election

Malawi's Electoral Commission (MEC) chairman, Justice James Kalaile, confirmed on Wednesday that a coalition of seven opposition parties had filed court papers seeking a re-run of the presidential poll. Ruling party candidate Bingu wa Mutharika was declared the winner of last week's election and was inaugurated on Monday, amid violent protests by opposition supporters who believed the election was rigged. Election observer groups have stopped short of endorsing the poll as both free and fair, while the MEC has been slated for its handling of the election. In its departure statement, released on Tuesday, the Commonwealth election observer group said: "The conclusion we have reached is that the voters were free to express their wishes on election day itself, but because of the problems with the register, the bias of the state media and the abuse of incumbency, the process prior to election day was unfair. Some of the requirements of the democratic process have been met, but others have not." The Commonwealth observer group will now hand its completed report to the Commonwealth Secretary-General, who will forward it to Malawi's president and Justice Kalaile. In its interim report the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA) said the MEC "seemed to lack the institutional capacity to organise and manage some crucial aspects of the electoral process, such as the compilation of the voters' roll". The deputy head of the EISA mission, Denis Kadima, had earlier told IRIN the poll "was free, but not fair". The seven-party opposition Mgwirizano (Unity) Coalition, whose candidate Gwanda Chakuamba came third according to the results announced, has now demanded a re-run and not just a recount of the poll. The MEC was set to contest this in court, Kalaile told IRIN. The commission opposed a re-run of the election, and court papers setting out the MEC's position would be filed. He could not go into detail, saying only that "our lawyers are handling it".