COURTS POSTPONE ELECTIONS

UNCLAS LILONGWE 000405

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PINR MI
SUBJECT: COURTS POSTPONE ELECTIONS

REF: A. 03 LILONGWE 1202

B. LILONGWE 404

C. LILONGWE 398

D. LILONGWE 381


1. (U) The High Court ruled on May 14 in favor of the
Mgwirizano Coalition's request to postpone May 18
presidential and parliamentary elections. It decided on the
grounds that the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) had not
fulfilled the legal requirement to open the voters' roll for
public scrutiny at least 21 days before polling day (reftel
D). In the High Courts' ruling, the panel of judges
determined that the voters' roll should be open to the public
through May 19 and that polling day should occur no later
than May 25. MEC officials have informally told journalists
that polling will likely occur on May 25. (NOTE: According
to the Constitution, MEC cannot delay the elections more than
7 days without receiving a mandate from Parliament.)

COMMENT
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2. (SBU) Other than fulfilling the legal requirements of the
electoral law, postponing polling day will do little to fix
the problems with the voters' roll, since MEC will not have
sufficient time to correct any errors noted during the
verification process. The opposition Coalition will likely
welcome the postponement because there is the general feeling
that its campaign has been gaining momentum in the recent
weeks.
BROWNING