Award of Chatham House Prize 2020 to Justices of Malawi's Constitutional Court

That this House congratulates the judges on the Constitutional Court of Malawi, Justice Healey Potani, Justice Ivy Kamanga, Justice Redson Kapindu, Justice Dingiswayo Madise and Justice Michael Tembo, who have been awarded the 2020 Chatham House Prize in recognition of the courage and independence in the defence of democracy demonstrated in their historic February 2020 ruling that annulled the May 2019 Malawian presidential election; notes that the Chatham House Prize is awarded annually to the person, persons or organisation deemed by the institute’s members to have made the most significant contribution to the improvement of international relations in the previous year; further notes that Chatham House has concluded that at a time when standards of democratic governance are under threat not only in Africa, but in many democracies, Malawi’s constitutional court judges set an example for their peers across the world by upholding the centrality of the rule of law and separation of powers; recognises that the February 2020 judgement led to fresh elections in Malawi; and believes, with the members of Chatham House, that the judges' decision has helped to rebuild the confidence of Malawi’s citizens in their institutions, and serves as encourgament for those interested in upholding standards of democracy more widely across the African continent and around the world.