State wants contempt case against Mec, NRB dismissed

By Isaac Salima:

Attorney General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda has said the court should dismiss an application for contempt of court by several people against officials from the National Registration Bureau (NRB) and the Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec).

George Chipwaila and 11 others have dragged Mec, its chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja, NRB and its Principal Secretary Mphatso Sambo before the court for contempt.

The respondents are accused of failing to comply with a court order made on October 25, 2024, which ordered them to take immediate action and implement mechanisms to ensure that persons who meet the eligibility criteria set by the Constitution are able to register to vote.

However, when both parties appeared before Judge Allan Muhome in Blantyre on Friday, Chakaka Nyirenda, who is representing NRB, argued in his preliminary application that the case should be dismissed because the defendants lacked sufficient interest in the case, apparently because they are all registered with NRB.

“There were many irregularities. When accusing someone in court, you must specify what conduct they were supposed to perform and what they failed to do.

“Additionally, all those involved in the case are registered in the NRB database and therefore lack interest in the matter. Thus, the case should be dismissed,” he said.

Chakaka Nyirenda added that the State had raised 10 preliminary objections.

Lawyer for the applicants, Bob Chimkango, said they would await the court’s ruling on the matter.

The case has been adjourned until January 24, when the court will rule on whether the case should proceed.

The people involved are among those who challenged the use of national identity cards as the sole proof of identification for voter registration, before the court rejected their application.

Mec completed its voter registration exercise in December.

However, before it concluded, some opposition parties accused NRB of failing to comply with the court order.

NRB, through Nyirenda, said they had registered 12.5 million people, exceeding the target of 10.9 million.

NRB also released a statement confirming its commitment to complying with the court order.

Meanwhile, Mec is set to commence the supplementary registration exercise tomorrow following challenges encountered during the initial exercise.