Court orders fresh elections in MUBAS SRC VP, GS case
The High Court of Malawi has nullified the election of ineligible candidates to the Students Representative Council (SRC) at the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS), ordering fresh polls to be conducted by February 28, 2025.
Delivering the judgment in Judicial Review Cause Number 27 of 2024, Justice Allan Hans Muhome ruled that the decision to allow academically ineligible candidates to contest on the position of violated the SRC Constitution and was unlawful.
The case was brought forward by Ashley Nazombe, Kingsley Kanyada, Alexander Takondwa, and Innocent Chimdima, who challenged the university’s decision to permit candidates with academic averages below the prescribed minimums to participate in the 2024 SRC elections.
According to the SRC Constitution, executive candidates must have a minimum average grade of 65%, while directors and representatives require at least 60%. Despite this, candidates for the positions of Vice President (VP) and General Secretary (GS), who failed to meet these requirements, were allowed to contest and later sworn into office.
In response to complaints, the university initiated a resolution process where class representatives voted on whether to maintain the status quo or hold fresh elections.
A majority of 88 class representatives voted in favor of retaining the ineligible candidates, while 43 voted against. The claimants argued that this approach was procedurally unfair and unconstitutional, asserting that the elections were invalid from the outset due to the breach of eligibility criteria.
In his ruling, Justice Muhome emphasized that judicial review focuses on the decision-making process rather than the merits of the decisions themselves. He found that the university failed to follow proper procedures, concluding that the endorsement of ineligible candidates was void and the elections were unlawful.
The court ordered the immediate removal of the ineligible candidates from office and directed the university to organize fresh elections using the same candidate list as the 2024 polls. Justice Muhome also ruled that each party would bear its own legal costs.
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