A seven-member panel dismissed Kamangila’s appeal, backing the High Court’s finding that MEC improperly handled null and void votes and issued an unlawful corrigendum.
KEY FACTS
•MEC initially declared Ramuzani Mahomed winner on September 30, 2025
•MEC reversed that result two days later via a corrigendum, declaring DPP’s Thomson Kamangira winner
•A 7-member panel led by Deputy Chief Justice Lovemore Chikopa delivered the judgment
•MEC has been ordered to hold a fresh by-election in Nsanje South as soon as possible
The Supreme Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by Thomson Kamangila and upheld a High Court ruling nullifying the Nsanje South Constituency parliamentary election results, paving the way for a fresh poll in the southern district.
A seven-member panel of justices, led by Deputy Chief Justice Lovemore Chikopa, delivered the judgment, agreeing with the High Court that the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) had overstepped its legal authority in handling the disputed results.
The case traces back to the September 2025 parliamentary elections, when MEC initially declared independent candidate Ramuzani Juma Mahomed the winner of the Nsanje South seat on September 30, 2025. Just two days later, the commission reversed course, issuing a corrigendum that declared Democratic Progressive Party candidate Thomson Kamangila the winner instead.
Mahomed challenged the reversal in the High Court, arguing that the commission had acted outside the legally required timeframe and had improperly recounted and tallied null and void votes without the presence of candidate monitors — a procedural requirement intended to ensure transparency in the vote-counting process.
The High Court agreed, nullifying the election results and ordering a fresh election. Kamangila subsequently appealed that decision at the Supreme Court, seeking to have the results reinstated in his favour.
The apex court, however, sided with the lower court. According to Mahomed’s lawyer, Khumbo Bonzoe Soko, the Supreme Court found that MEC lacked the authority both to issue the corrigendum reversing the declared winner and to recount disputed votes without the candidates and their representatives present.
Soko, who welcomed the ruling, described it as a meaningful contribution to electoral law in Malawi.
He expressed hope that the Malawi Electoral Commission would move quickly to schedule a by-election so that the people of Nsanje South — who have been without a properly elected representative since the dispute arose — can secure parliamentary representation without further delay.
“The Supreme Court was of the view that MEC had no authority to issue a corrigendum to correct the outcome of the result, and also had no authority to review null and void votes in the absence of stakeholders,” said Soko.
MEC has since been directed by the court to conduct a fresh election in Nsanje South Constituency as soon as possible.
