By Francis Banda

The High Court in Blantyre,Malawi,has granted a stay order on its own ruling and leave to appeal in the ongoing contempt of court proceedings against the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) and the National Registration Bureau (NRB).

This decision followed an application by Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka-Nyirenda, who sought to challenge the earlier ruling that allowed contempt of court proceedings.

The case involves five claimants—George Chipwaila, Geofrey Banda, Alex Phillip Dimba, James Chitsulo, and Crino Masulani—who initiated contempt proceedings against the MEC and NRB.

The claimants argued that the MEC failed to allow individuals meeting the eligibility criteria set by section 77 of the Constitution to register as voters for the upcoming September general elections.

Justice Allan Muhome, in his ruling, said the MEC did not comply with an earlier High Court order by Justice Mandala Mambulasa.

The October order emphasised that individuals without proof of eligibility should be assisted to register in the NRB’s database and provided with a unique identifier, as per section 12 of the Presidential, Parliamentary, and Local Elections Act.

Despite the directive, the claimants contended that the MEC and NRB did not comply, prompting them to seek legal recourse. In response, the MEC and the AG sought to have the application dismissed. However, Justice Muhome ruled in favour of the claimants, allowing the contempt proceedings to commence.

But after the AG made the application instantly to stay the ruling and applied for leave to appeal, the High Court granted it despite objections by lawyers for the applicants, Mr. Felix Tambulasi and Bob Chimkango.

This development means that the contempt proceedings will be temporarily halted while the appeal process is underway. create for me a headline