Malawian president says will accept court ruling on disputed vote. Malawi president orders election re-run, but decision challenged, LI...
Malawian president says will accept court ruling on disputed vote.
Malawi president orders election re-run, but decision challenged,
LILONGWE (Reuters) - Malawian President Joyce Banda said on Thursday she is ready to step down if the High Court ratifies a disputed election last week and her opponent ends up as the winner, even though she still believes the vote was fraudulent.
The High Court is due to decide on Friday whether the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) should announce the result of the May 20 vote, which Banda's opponent is likely to have won, or if it should recount ballots, a process that could take two months.
The decision could raise the risk of post-election violence in the impoverished southern African country after the most hotly contested vote since the end of the one-party state two decades ago.
"I have told the MEC and related stakeholders that I will accept their decision, and the decision of the courts," Banda told Reuters in an interview in the Malawian capital Lilongwe.
"I will rest knowing that I tried to defend the rights of Malawians in a critical moment to ensure they have a leader elected in a fair and credible manner," she added.
The election was plagued by problems, with voting materials turning up hours late and ballot papers sent to the wrong end of the country. The MEC had to extend voting in some urban areas into a second day and initial counting was held up by a lack of electricity at polling stations.
Four days after the election, the MEC said a count of 30 percent of the votes cast showed that the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), headed by Peter Mutharika, brother of the late President Bingu wa Mutharika, was in the lead with 42 percent of the vote.
Banda, southern Africa's first female head of state, followed with 23 percent. The MEC has finished counting but has not announced the result. Local media reports suggest Mutharika would comfortably win if there is no recount.
After consulting two opposition parties and the Attorney General, Banda ordered the cancellation of the election, citing fraud and "rampant irregularities". She ordered a new election within 90 days but said she would not be a candidate to guarantee credibility.
RECOUNT
The High Court overruled her decision after the DPP complained and now the court will decide whether the election result should be announced or order a recount.
The MEC has acknowledged irregularities in the vote and said last week it wants a recount.
"When I announced that the election was fraudulent, no one believed me. But today I feel vindicated that my critics and MEC have seen what I saw and are now fighting in court for a recount or re-run," Banda told Reuters.
"My role now is to see to it that the will of the people is respected in a free, fair, transparent and credible election that is why I have announced that I will not participate in the event that there is a re-run," Banda said.
Banda enjoyed huge goodwill when she came to power two years ago, after the death of President Mutharika, but her popularity waned after she was forced to impose austerity measures including a sharp devaluation, to stabilize the economy.
Her administration was hit by a $15 million corruption scandal, dubbed 'Cashgate', after large amounts of cash were discovered to have stolen by a racket involving senior public officers, businessmen and banks.
Banda, who said that she would retire from politics and concentrate on her charity work, said that she now has confidence in MEC.
"Even the MEC itself has now admitted that there are enough anomalies to warrant an individual ballot recount, and others have supported this request ... this was all I ever wanted in the first place," she said.
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Related Story.
Malawi police shoot dead protester in post-election violence.
LILONGWE (Reuters) - Malawi police shot dead a protester on Friday after clashing with dozens of people who barricaded roads with burning tyres demanding a recount of a disputed May 20 presidential election, police officials said.
The impoverished southern African nation was awaiting a court decision later on Friday on whether the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) should the result or order a recount.
Demonstrators in the Mangochi district, in the southern part of Malawi, smashed shop windows and burned tyres along the road, prompting police to fire tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse them.
"In the ensuing fracas one person has been shot dead as police tried to defend themselves after being overpowered by angry protesters," police officer Elijah Kachikuwo told Reuters.
He also said two police officers were seriously injured.
Police said the protesters were members of the People's Party of President Joyce Banda and Lazarus Chakwera's Malawi Congress Party, both of which have called for a recount.
The High Court was due to decide on Friday whether the MEC should announce the result, which Banda's opponent is likely to have won, or if it should recount ballots, a process that could take two months.
Four days after the election, the MEC said a count of 30 percent of the votes cast showed that the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), headed by Peter Mutharika, brother of the late President Bingu wa Mutharika, was in the lead with 42 percent of the vote.
Banda, Southern Africa's first female head of state, followed with 23 percent. The MEC has finished counting but has not announced the result. Local media reports suggested Mutharika would comfortably win if there were no recount.
Source : http://news.yahoo.com/africa/
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