Malawi’s Votegate: LL City Vehicle Intercepted With Pre-marked Ballot Papers for the Acting President Joyce Banda Lilongwe City Vehicle has been caught with six ballot boxes with ballot papers already marked in favour of incumbent outgoing president Joyce Hilda Ntila Banda. Information coming from the Capital city indicates that the car, registration number BP 523, which belongs to the Lilongwe City Police Patrol has had its tires deflated after people saw that it had ballot papers in the car.The deliver of the vehicle was a Mr. Mzumara of Falls Area in the city. All cars that are working for the Malawi Electoral Commission in these elections have special registration numbers, TPE XXX. However, the Police car had no such a registration which caused an uproar as to why it was carrying election materials. The vehicle was not on the MEC list of approved vehicles to carry electoral materials including Ballot Boxes and Ballot Papers. MCP, DPP and UDF officials have said that this is enough evidence for MEC and Justice Mbendera that the elections will be rigged. “They have been asking for evidence. here is the evidence- what will they do about this?” they said. The officials want outgoing president Joyce Hilda Mtila Banda immidiatly disqualified from participating in the polls or they will reject the results. The development has landed barely 48 hours after national- wide blackout in which Malawi Acting President Joyce Hilda Mtila Banda was busy finalising marking in advance ballot papers in her favour at the official Presidential residence here in the administrative capital Lilongwe on top of dispatching them to unknown areas. HOW THE MARKING OF FAKE BALLOT STARTED? The marking of the fake ballot papers exercise commenced on May 10 in the Banana Room at the Kamuzu Palace. On duty leading the exercise were Patrick Manda and Binauli. The State House Security Guard who was monitoring the pre- marking of the ballots and ensuring tight security in the room before being dispatched was Sergeant Msukumwa. During the exercise, when pre- marking is done on the ballot papers, ticking against outgoing President Joyce Hilda Mtila Banda’s name, the papers are folded and put in empty boxes of ZTE phones. This is a pre-cautionary measure in cause the vehicle is caught and they would say,they are carrying ZTE phones. The boxes were then dispatched through State House vehicles hence the one hour long black- out, which was meant to allow the vehicles to speed out of Lilongwe in total darkness.We have since established that the pre-marked are being dispatched to the newly promoted traditional chiefs’ houses and some selected few People’s Party Constituency Governor’s homes. It is not known how the pre- marked ballot papers will be slotted into the legitimate ballot boxes when Malawians vote on Tuesday, 20th May, 2014.As reported earlier, a white twin cab registration number BQ 9080 left with the first batch of the pre- marked ballot papers to some unknown places. ADVISE TO OPPOSITION PARTIES: What is happening at Lilongwe Civic Centre can only be an indication of what is happening across the country. If the opposition needed proof of JB’s intention to rig these elections, this is it. To myopically look at this as simply an isolated incident would be regrettable and could prove costly.
Posted on: Mon, 19 May 2014 08:15:17 +0000
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