MDC Alliance president writes to Malawi poll winner ,judiciary for defending constitution and praises military

MDC Alliance president, Nelson Chamisa has praised Malawian state institutions for defending the neighbouring country’s constitution through a presidential poll rerun that has seen opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera cruise to victory.

Zimbabwe’s main opposition leader wrote to Chakwera expressing his admiration for the principled stance taken by the Malawian military and judiciary.

“We equally salute the national institutions in Malawi, in particular the judiciary and security services for acting as a bulwark against authoritarianism and defending the constitution of Malawi both in letter and spirit.

“It must be a source of pride to Malawians that these institutions have consistently demonstrated a commitment to professionalism, respect for the rule of law and defence of the constitution,” said Chamisa.

The letter written by the opposition leader was part of correspondence obtained from a highly placed source in Malawi’s political circles.

The MDC Alliance leader said Chakwera’s victory was also triumph for democracy and a demonstration of the strength of Malawian institutions and the people’s determination.

He said the resilience and tenacity in pushing back electoral manipulation was “a source of inspiration to democrats across Africa and a reminder to those with determined leadership, people power, unity of purpose and an undying commitment to democratic values that no barrier is insurmountable”.

“We remember how these institutions defended the Constitution of Malawi upon the succession of the late president, His Excellency Bingu waMutharika in 2012 when there was an attempt to subvert it,” Chamisa said.

The MDC Alliance leader has not been very lucky with Zimbabwean state institutions he accuses of being complicit in an alleged vote theft by incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa 2018.

An attempt to challenge the Zimbabwean poll outcome through the Constitutional Court soon after the disputed plebiscite ended in disappointment when the court upheld Mnangagwa’s victory.

The Zimbabwean opposition insists the outcome of both the poll and the court challenge could have been different had the country’s state institutions not being “captured” by the incumbent.