The Malawi Electoral Commission has set 2nd July 2020 as when the fresh presidential election will be held.
This is in line with order for a fresh poll that the Constitutional Court unleashed in February.
In addressing the media, MEC Chairperson Jane Ansah insisted that the commission in ready to oversee the elections, although there is a static protest against the commission to step down.
The commission was admonished by the court in a number of ways including the management of results, the use of erasing fluid Tippex and failure to audit the results prior to final announcements.
The court then moved to nullify the elections and ruled that afresh poll be held in 150 days including weekends and public holidays.
But according to Ansah, the commission has come up with the dates as the court ruled.
Registration of voters which will run in four phases will commence of 4th April to 7th June.
This faces the official campaign period from 2nd May to 30th June.
Candidates in the elections will have to submit their nomination papers from 23rd and 24th April 2020 in Blantyre with a fee of K2 million before the day of submission.
The commission has since set aside a budget to man the poll to the tune of K34 Billion.
However, Ansah argued that with some activities likely to be affected by the coronavirus concerns, the figures could swell up.
MEC has since cast doubt on whether there will be a change in election dates going forward as the current election is by order of court. Constitutionally, the nation holds elections on the third week of May every five years.
‘’We intend to restore public trust by solving the shortfalls that were highlighted by the Constitutional court. Among others, we have started with the removal of constituency tally centers. More so, the log book and the summary of results sheet which were placed in one document in the Tripartite elections, will now be separated, ‘’ said Ansah.