Attorney General Frank Mbeta has said he will challenge in court an application filed by the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) seeking a judicial review of President Peter Mutharika’s executive order to relocate the commission’s headquarters to Blantyre.
Mbeta confirmed his position in an interview with this publication, stating that the government is prepared to defend the presidential directive despite not yet being formally served with court papers.
He argued that President Mutharika acted within the confines of the Constitution when he issued the order, insisting that the decision falls squarely under the powers vested in the presidency.
According to Mbeta, the executive order does not in any way undermine the independence of MEC, but instead relates to administrative arrangements that the President is constitutionally permitted to make.
The Malawi Electoral Commission, however, maintains a different view, prompting it to seek the court’s intervention through a judicial review.
MEC’s application is based on concerns that the relocation of its headquarters could amount to meddling and interference by the President in the commission’s constitutional and statutory mandate.
The commission argues that such interference could potentially affect its powers, functions, and duties as an independent electoral body.
The matter is now expected to be settled in court, where judges will be asked to determine whether the President’s directive was lawful or whether it infringes on MEC’s constitutional independence.
