The Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) has suspended the week-long nationwide demonstrations to force Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) Chairperson Jane Ansah to resign.

HRDC which is  accusing Ansah of failure to manage the May 21 elections, was scheduled to hold the demonstrations from Monday to Friday.

HRDC chairperson Timothy Mtambo told YFM that they will converge to strategize on how best they can add more pressure to Ansah to resign.

Mtambo said they have noted that the usual demonstrations are not yielding fruits and this has forced them to quickly meet and agree on the new strategies to be used to succeed in their demand to have Ansah resign.

“We have realized that conducting the demonstrations in a business as usual approach has contributed a lot to a decision by Ansah not to resign up to now. Enough of her stubbornness,” he said.

Mtambo was however quick to clarify that their decision to put the demonstrations on hold is not connected to President Peter Mutharika’s recent remarks that some people are planning to take over the government from him through demonstrations.

He said new dates for the demonstrations and how they will be done will be communicated on Wednesday during a press conference in Lilongwe.

Initially, the week-long demonstrations were scheduled to take place in all four major cities of Lilongwe, Blantyre Mzuzu and Lilongwe with few selected districts.