The constitutional court in Malawi has ordered for the conduct of a new presidential election after annulling the results of a vote that re-elected President Peter Mutharika in May 2019.
The ruling was passed Monday as the judges cited widespread irregularities during the election which was conducted by the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) on May 21 2019.
“We hold that the first respondent (Mutharika) was not duly elected as president of Malawi on May 21, 2019,” ruled judge president Healey Potani.
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“We hereby nullify the results of the presidential elections,” he added.
This is the first election in the country to be legally challenged since the country’s independence in 1964, as a fresh election will hold within 151 days.