Electoral commission chair quits over flawed poll

Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairman Justice Kalaile announced his resignation on Monday, three months after presiding over controversial parliamentary and presidential ballots. Kalaile's departure has come as a relief to pro-democracy groups and opposition parties, who accused him of failing to conduct free and fair elections. The opposition Malawi Congress Party and Mgwirizano coalition are disputing the presidential results in the High Court, alleging the elections were rigged by the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) with the help of the MEC. Both the UDF and MEC have denied the charges. "His [Kalaile's] departure is long overdue. However, this is an honourable thing for him to do," commented Chancellor College law lecturer, Edge Kanyongolo. Kanyongolo told IRIN in a recent interview that he was in broad agreement with calls for Kalaila to quit, but cautioned: "My only warning to the nation is that people should not rush into overhauling the MEC because this will be bad for the democratic process." Rafiq Hajat, who heads the Institute for Political Interaction, an NGO think-tank, said Kalaile's decision was a "welcome development". "As chairman, Kalaile bears the burden of the mistakes that happened during the elections. This is what people were calling for," Hajat told IRIN. Kalaile, who was due to appear next month before a parliamentary committee looking into the conduct of the 20 May elections, denied allegations that he was pressured into resigning. The European Union said in a report by its election observer team, presented to President Bingu wa Mutharika in early August, that although polling day was peaceful, problems with the voters' register, counting the ballots and biased media coverage had rendered the election process unfair. It also condemned political intimidation allegedly perpetrated by the UDF's Young Democrats, and the misuse of incumbency. The UDF's publicity secretary and Information Minister, Ken Lipenga, said there were complaints against the MEC by all the parties over its management of the elections. "The electoral commission listened to us and tried their best to address the problem," he noted.