Malawi's Constitutional Court Judges Win the 2020 Chatham House Prize

That the Parliament congratulates Malawi’s constitutional court judges on winning the 2020 Chatham House Prize; understands that this prestigious award recognises individuals or an organisation that have made a significant contribution to the improvement of international relations; acknowledges that Malawi’s constitutional court judges were presented with the award in recognition of their display of courage and independence in the defence of democracy during their landmark ruling to annul the 2019 Malawian presidential election after they found instances of widespread, systematic and grave irregularities during the election process; notes that the ruling led to the election being re-run in June 2020 and also resulted in the first-past-the-post electoral system being replaced with one that demands an outright majority intended to encourage more co-operation and alliances; recognises that the five High Court judges, Justice Healey Potani, Justice Ivy Kamanga, Justice Redson Kapindu, Justice Dingiswayo Madise and Justice Michael Tembo, have been commended for upholding the constitution and the democratic rights of Malawian citizens while facing alleged bribery attempts and threats ahead of the delivery of their ruling; believes that their bravery and commitment to ensuring a fair and open election process has taken place is a significant step in helping to protect and strengthen democratic governance, accountability and values in Malawi and across the African continent more widely; congratulates them on their well-deserved accolade, and hopes that this historic moment will lead to fair, democratic elections taking place in Malawi from now on and will be an important step in building trust and confidence amongst Malawi’s citizens in their institutions.