Today, the front page of The Nation Newspaper has a story titled “PRESIDENCY IN FRESH TEST.” The story simply narrates that the former ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) needs the court-ordered fresh presidential polls held in 2020 to be nullified.
The genesis of the DPP’s argument dwells on the firing of two Malawi Electoral Commissioners (MEC) who were part of the team that managed the fresh presidential polls.
I am seconding the officials of the party for exercising their constitutional right constitutionally. It is their constitutional right to date the Judiciary whenever they feel robbed. They are Malawians who are entitled to enjoy all constitutional rights.
Legally, the case must be battled in courts BUT I am sure as a country we should analyze these developments with the third eye. We should always read between lines on what we need to gain collectively as a country. If we need individual gains, then we are okay to continue embracing mediocrity.
The DPP is one of the strongest parties in the country. The party has a lot of supporters across the country who are keen to follow the case until the final day. These people will spend most of their time tuning in to Radio Stations, Watching Televisions, Surfing on the Internet, and Reading Newspapers to follow the court proceedings as it was in the past court battle.
Arguably, the DPP supporters will share their time. The time for participating in developmental initiatives for a better Malawi and the time for listening to court battles. Yes, the court battle can also be figuratively aligned to the development of the country. The approach depends on the priorities we have as a country. It is us to choose either to fight for powers in courts forever or decide to put down our guns and move forward as a country.
My other worry is on the funders of the elections. Imagine if the court nullifies the elections and orders for another fresh presidential election. The taxpayer’s money can also be used to fund the elections. Really? Imagine people in the villages are struggling to afford basic needs because of our staggering economy. Why can’t we use the money that may be used to run the elections to manage the high inflation rate hitting the country?
I don’t think we can claim to be democratic for being fighting in the courts for powers for two consecutive years. Really? Democracy ensures that ordinary citizens have basic needs on a daily basis which is not the case in our country. As a country, we have serious battles to fight: the high unemployment rate among the youth, inflation, negative Balance of Payment (BOP), and poverty among others. Why can’t we priorities these wars over judicial fights? Refer to the G7 (the most democratic countries in the world) on how they play their cards in politics.
Bright Malenga is neither a lawyer nor a law student. He is just a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communication student with Political Science as an Elective (Minor Programme) at the Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU). He a patriot.
