Justice Mtalimanja Tapped to Lead Malawi Electoral Body
For a nation still scarred by its brush with democratic upheaval, the composition of this commission now overseeing next year's elections could represent a make-or-break inflection point.
LILONGWE, Malawi - In a shake-up of Malawi's electoral leadership ahead of next year's pivotal national polls, President Lazarus Chakwera has installed Justice Annabel Mtalimanja as the new chairperson of the Malawi Electoral Commission, according to an announcement from the commission Thursday, writes Winston Mwale.
Mtalimanja, a veteran jurist, assumes the powerful position effective June 7, replacing Justice Dr. Chifundo Kachale whose tumultuous tenure expired two days earlier on June 6.
In addition to the new chair, Chakwera approved two new commissioners - Rev. Phillip P.J. Kambulire and Dr. Limbikani Kamlongera - to fill remaining vacancies, rounding out the influential seven-member panel that will preside over the country's make-or-break May 2025 tripartite elections.
Mtalimanja, who brings decades of respected judicial experience, now assumes the unenviable task of helping steer the complex electoral process toward credibility after the 2019 debacle nearly tore this southern African nation apart.
In the chaos that followed the opposition's allegations of rigging in 2019, Malawian army soldiers were deployed to quell violent street protests.
The Constitutional Court eventually annulled the results, forcing a rerun that ushered Chakwera's opposition alliance into power on a promise to restore trust in public institutions.
But skepticism and political tensions have lingered, underscoring the high-stakes of the 2025 vote.
Mtalimanja's integrity and even-handed oversight of the reconstituted Electoral Commission could prove vital to keeping a fragile peace.
Commissioners Kambulire and Kamlongera are seen as impartial figures as well, offering hope that a fresh slate of leadership can shepherd the process through uncharted territory.
Chakwera's appointments were made under the legal authority of Section 75 of Malawi's Constitution and Section 4 of the Electoral Commission Act.
The new seven-member panel is comprised of Mtalimanja as chair, Kambulire, Kamlongera, and holdover commissioners Richard Chapweteka, Dr. Emmanuel Fabiano, Francis Kasaila and Caroline Mfune.
For a nation still scarred by its brush with democratic upheaval, the composition of this commission now overseeing next year's elections could represent a make-or-break inflection point.
Congratulations are in order on Justice Mtalimanja's appointment to the position of Chair of MEC. The country expects integrity characteristised by adherence to law, incorruptibility, timeliness, truth ...The bar set by Dr Kachale is the minimum. Good luck.