As if the Lilongwe District Council rejected the opposition parties’ request to hold demonstrations against the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), the protestors woke up to a rude awakening on Wednesday as panga-wielding boys descended at the venue.
The demonstrations aim to force MEC to disengage the election management devices (EMD) supplied by Smartmatic. The parties also want MEC chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja, MEC chief elections officer Andrew Mpesi and NRB Principal Secretary Mphatso Sambo to step down.
Dressed in black and ninja-style hoods, the men chased away people that gathered at the demonstrations starting point, Lilongwe Community Ground.
Despite the Council saying that the demos could not proceed because law enforcers were busy, heavily armed police officers were seen loitering around the venue.
They were behaving as if they were working hand in hand with the panga-wielding boys.
Despite the situation, one of the organizers, Levie Luwemba said the demonstration will go ahead, but in the afternoon.
Yesterday, Lilongwe district commissioner Lawford Palani wrote the opposition political parties and some concerned civil society organisations, asking them to reschedule the planned demonstration and vigils because the Malawi Police Service is stretched and would not be able to provide adequate security
The parties are the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), United Democratic Front (UDF), Alliance For Democracy (Afford), and People’s Party (PP).
Speaking on behalf of the parties in Lilongwe on Tuesday, DPP spokesperson Shadric Namalomba said MEC should resume the registration process until major concerns affecting the process are addressed.
Further, they want National Registration Bureau NRB Principal Secretary Mphatso Sambo to resign for allegedly failing in their duties.
