With only hours towards the much awaited Muslim Association of Malawi (MAM) Elections, the grouping called Islamic Concerning led by Sheikh Dr. Imran Shareef has obtained the court injunction to stop MAM electoral commission from conducting district elections which was scheduled to start today.
According to the court document which Malawi Muslims Website possesses, “the interlocutory injunction is restraining the defendants either by themselves, their agents or servants or howsoever otherwise from holding the elections for office bearers in Muslim Association of Malawi until the determinations at the substantive action or any further order of the court.”
It further orders that “within a period of 10 days the plaintiffs should take out inter-parties for interlocutory injunction.”
Chairman of the grouping Yusuf Sambo told Malawi Muslims Website that the electoral commission did not consider their concerns about the setup of the elections.
Sambo: They only used Radio Islam which has no coverage in other area in election updates
Sambo said the elections are organized in contrary with the MAM Constitution which asks three voters from each Jumuah Mosque while the commission was inviting six voters from each Mosque.
“We are very concerned on the way the commission is handling the elections, MAM constitution demands that letters of notice should dispatch from all Jumuah Mosques 21 days before elctions so that the voters should be aware of the exact place but this never happened and we have obtained this injunction for the commission to look into those areas,” said Sambo.
He also expressed his concern over the changes of voting places in some other districts like Balaka which was supposed to be at Balaka town but the polling center was shifted to Namanolo Islamic Center and so with Thyolo district whereby the polling station was supposed to be at Makwasa but the commission decided to put the center at Vumbwe which is close to Blantyre.
Chairman of the Electoral Commission Alhajj Twaibu Lawe confirmed that indeed the injunction has been issued to MAM Board of Trustees and that MAM is working on it.
Lawe: They don’t listen to radio Islam deliberately
He also refuted the allegations that the commission invited six voters from each Jumuah Masjid and that these people were deliberately boycotting from listening to radio Islam for electoral updates.
“They deliberately do not listen to radio announcements, it has been announced that three candidates from each Jumuah Masjids will be allowed to vote and not six as alleged, MAM does not at all specify date and place for voting,” said Lawe.
