President Peter Mutharika appointed Dr. Ansah as chairperson of MEC on October 14, 2016 following her nomination by the Judicial Service Commission.

The resignation of MEC chairperson Jane Ansah comes exactly one year since Malawi went to the polls on 21 May 2019, elections the courts found wanting.

It also comes amid mounting pressure from opposition and civil society to quit for presiding over a fraudulent electoral process.

But two key opposition parties the MCP and UTM don’t trust Ansah’s move.

In separate interviews, MCP Secretary General Eisenhower Mkaka and UTM Spokesperson Joseph Chidanti Malunga wondered why it took her this long to step aside.

Mkaka said they will not be carried away by the news, until all commissioners resign.

UTM spokesperson Dr. Chidanti-Malunga says her resignation raises more questions.

The two parties who have formed an alliance nonetheless say they are ready to field new MEC commissioners for smooth elections next month.

Contracts for all MEC commissioners expire on 5 June, about two weeks before the fresh presidential polls.

Meanwhile, a law expert has warned that the resignation of Malawi Electoral Commission chairperson, Dr. Jane Ansah, could bring complications and plunge Malawi into yet another electoral crisis not long from now.

The expert, Justin Dzonzi, says although the decision is a moral choice, the timing of the resignation will create a two-weeks gap without a commission in the middle of preparing for an election.