Mbeta fights to throw out MEC relocation case, says MCP MPs have no legal standing

Attorney General Frank Mbeta has launched a strong legal challenge against a court case that temporarily halted the relocation of the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) headquarters from Lilongwe to Blantyre, arguing that the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and three of its Members of Parliament have no legal right to be before the court in the first place. In court documents filed before the High Court in Lilongwe, Mbeta is asking the court to dismiss the entire case and lift the injunction that stopped the implementation of President Peter Mutharika’s directive to relocate the electoral body’s headquarters. According to the Attorney General, the answer is none.

Mbeta argues that MCP lawmakers Emmanuel Chambulanyina Jere, Abraham Mwakhwawa and Daniel Chitonya Mwanyongo are neither employees, commissioners nor members of MEC. As such, he says, they have failed to demonstrate how they have personally been affected by decisions concerning the electoral body’s relocation. “None of the claimants is a member or employee of the Malawi Electoral Commission,” Mbeta states in his sworn affidavit.

Mbeta further argues that MEC itself has already taken legal action over the same matter and is pursuing its own case in court against the implementation of Executive Order Number One of 2025. In essence, he says there is already a directly affected party before the courts and there is no justification for a separate challenge by individuals who have not shown any personal injury arising from the relocation. The Attorney General is also relying on previous court decisions to support his position.

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He cites an earlier High Court case involving activist Limbani Phiri and others, where the court ruled that the applicants lacked sufficient interest because they failed to prove that they had suffered harm different from that experienced by the general public. Mbeta argues that the MCP lawmakers are in a similar position. He says their concerns are no different from those of ordinary citizens and that they have not demonstrated any unique legal injury that would entitle them to seek judicial intervention.

“The claimants have failed to show any specific injury arising from the decisions they are challenging,” Mbeta argues. The Attorney General has also taken issue with the decision to refer the matter to Chief Justice Rizine Mzikamanda for certification as a constitutional case.

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