The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has nullified results for the parliamentary election in Lilongwe City Mtandire–Mtsiliza Constituency after identifying serious irregularities in the handling of ballot materials.
Unofficial tallies had shown Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Alfred Gangata edging out Malawi Congress Party (MCP)’s George Zulu by just five votes, with Gangata receiving 12,289 against Zulu’s 12,284.
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In a letter addressed to Zulu’s lawyer Pempho Likongwe SC of the Lilongwe & Company, MEC Chairperson Justice Annabel Mtalimanja said the Returning Officer exceeded their authority by preparing records, opening tamper-evident envelopes, and examining void votes, actions MEC described as “serious misconduct” that rendered the results impossible to determine with certainty.
“The conduct of the Council Returning Officer in opening the tamper-evident envelopes and purporting to examine the void votes was a serious misconduct and has caused a serious irregularity,” reads the letter.
Amid mounting uncertainty and controversy, the Commission has nullified the recent parliamentary election, saying a by-election will follow later.
“In view of these findings, the Commission has been rendered unable to determine the results with certainty and has, therefore, resolved that the parliamentary election in the constituency be nullified or cancelled.
“Accordingly, a by-election shall be held in the same manner as if there were a vacancy. The date for the by-election will be advised in due course,” reads the letter.
Reacting to the nullification, MCP candidate George Zulu who wrote MEC told Nthanda Times in an interview that MEC’s decision had validated his complaints about malpractice but left major concerns unresolved.
“I can say it’s two-fold. I’m satisfied, also not satisfied. I’m satisfied because at least MEC has responded to our request to look into the results. But I’m not satisfied because in our request, what we asked for was for a recount of the votes, to open the ballots and recount the ballots. Now, that has not been responded to,” said Zulu.
Zulu emphasized that while the nullification showed MEC had recognized wrongdoing, he still wanted a recount to prove he had actually won by a huge margin.
Zulu also faulted MEC for ignoring another complaint raised in his petitions: harassment of his election monitors.
“The other issue we raised was the harassment of our monitors by MEC officials, whereby our monitors were harassed and their phones were confiscated. We asked MEC to give us the law which allows MEC officials to confiscate the phones of monitors. That one has also not been responded to,” he added.
Zulu said he will now consult his lawyers on whether to press ahead with legal action.
“I’m going to consult my lawyers to see the way forward, whether we are proceeding in court to ask for a recount or not. That decision will be made at a later stage,” he said.
In an interview, Gangata, the DPP candidate who had been declared winner in the unofficial count, said he would only respond once MEC formally communicates the nullification.
“I am just hearing of the nullification through social media, but I cannot comment on the matter because I haven’t been communicated. I will only comment on the matter when I get a formal communication,” he said.
Malawians went to the polls on 16th September 2025 to elect their President, Members of Parliament, and local government councillors.
Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was declared winner of the presidential race.
MEC is expected to announce the results of the parliamentary elections on 29th September 2025 at 8:00 p.m.
