Malawi rocked by angry protests over disputed elections
Police said shops had been ransacked and two police officers injured by protesters throwing rocks in Lilongwe.
Protesters burns shirts and flags from the recently re-elected Malawian president Arthur Mutharika’s Democratic Progressive Party as thousands of Opposition parties supporters participate in a protest march in the capital Lilongwe on June 20, 2019, to force Malawi Electoral Commission chairperson Jane Ansah to resign and to protest the alleged use of correction fluid in the marked ballots. (Photo by AMOS GUMULIRA / AFP)
The leader of Malawi’s United Transformation Movement (UTM), Saulos Chilima, said protests that rocked the country on Thursday are just “warm-ups”, vowing that there will be more unless Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Jane Ansah steps down, Maravi Post reports.
This follows police and protesters clashing in three cities in Malawi on Thursday during countrywide demonstrations over the disputed result of last month’s presidential election.
In the biggest rallies since the vote count was announced, police used teargas to disperse protesters who tore down billboards of re-elected President Peter Mutharika.
Thousands of protesters gathered in the capital Lilongwe, in the commercial centre Blantyre and in the third city of Mzuzu at protests that called for the head of the Malawi Electoral Commission to resign.
In Blantyre, marchers were stopped by police using tear gas as they approached the commission’s headquarters, according to AFP reporters.
In Lilongwe, protestors included opposition leaders Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) as well as Chilima.
“Malawians are very angry with the manner in which the management of the election results were conducted and we want everyone involved in the injustice to resign and get out,” Chakwera said.
Chakwera alleges he was robbed of victory in the May 21 ballot, which an official count showed he lost by just 159,000 votes.
Police said shops had been ransacked and two police officers injured by protesters throwing rocks in Lilongwe.
“We continue to deploy police officers both on foot and vehicle patrols, in all strategic places in towns, cities and rural areas,” police said in a statement.
The election was marred by allegations of fraud, including that many results sheets were altered using correction fluid.
The two main opposition parties have challenged the vote outcome in court, with judges due to rule on Friday on whether or not to dismiss the case, as requested by Mutharika.
“A significant section of Malawi society is disgruntled and does not want the current government. It’s a divided country,” Malawian political scientist Michael Jana, who teaches at the University of Witwatersrand, told AFP.
On Wednesday, protesters blocked the main route into Lilongwe as Mutharika was due to arrive from Blantyre, forcing him to use another road.
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