𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀: 𝗩𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗸𝗼 𝗔.𝗭. 𝗠𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗮 𝘃𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗹𝗮𝘄𝗶 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗺𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵 𝗞𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶 𝗠𝗸𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘄𝗶𝗿𝗲 (𝗖𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗡𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟬𝟯 𝗼𝗳 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱)

Quick facts:

The Court has declared the 11 May 2025 primary election null and void;

The Court has ordered that a fresh primary election be held in accordance with the NEC resolution of 10 January 2025;

Each party will bear their own costs;

The Court held that the electoral college used was improperly constituted in breach of the NEC’s directive;

The Court held that the Claimant was denied procedural fairness and adequate notice;

The Court held that Internal remedies were unavailable or ineffective;

The Claimant’s constitutional rights under section 40 were violated.

The High Court has declared the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) primary election for Mzimba Central Constituency held on 11 May 2025 null and void, citing serious irregularities and violations of both party and constitutional principles.

The case, brought by Mr. Vitumbiko A.Z. Mumba against MCP and Mr. Adamson Joseph Kuseri Mkandawire, the declared winner of the disputed primary, challenged the credibility and legality of the nomination process. Mumba argued that the election was marred by manipulation of the electoral college, exclusion of legitimate delegates, last-minute venue changes, and a shift from secret ballot to public queueing due to violence, all of which compromised the fairness of the election.

At the core of the dispute was the alleged deviation from a National Executive Committee (NEC) resolution passed on 10 January 2025, which outlined the structure of the electoral college. The Court held that while the Party’s Constitution does not expressly lay out a detailed procedure for the formulation of an electoral college, the NEC possesses residual authority to issue binding resolutions in that regard. The MCP Regional leadership and Mkandawire, therefore, departed from this resolution by excluding long recognized areas and introducing unverifiable new committees. This was deemed a breach of internal governance protocols and undermined the legitimacy of the process.

The Court also found that the Claimant was not given proper notice of the final election venue, and that internal party mechanisms for resolving disputes were either ineffective or compromised, making the matter fit for judicial review.

Made in open court on 16th July by Justice Justus Kishindo