Malawi’s Supreme Court has upheld the invalidation of last year’s presidential election results and ruled that Peter Mutharika was not duly elected.
Mutharika had been announced the winner of the May 2019 election, with 38.5% of the vote. Opposition party leader Lazarus Chakwera came second with 35.41%.
In February this year, Malawi’s Constitutional Court nullified the results after the opposition parties challenged them. The Constitutional Court ruled that the vote was marred by irregularities and ordered a new election.
On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled in agreement with the Constitutional Court that none of the candidates had obtained a majority of votes.
Justice of Appeal Frank Kapanda said the court found the extent of irregularities in the May elections were ‘not only serious but also troubling’.
The court also criticised the Attorney General for having acted in a way that was not consistent with the Constitution.
The Supreme Court also noted that the 150-day transition period between the lower court ruling and the election re-run in July was unnecessarily long.
Since the disputed results were announced, there have been regular anti-government protests, some of which resulted in looting and the destruction of property, including government offices.
On Thursday this week, a mother and her son died after an opposition office was petrol-bombed while they were asleep in the same building.