The Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) has called off national-wide demonstrations which were scheduled to take place on Thursday.

The protests were earlier announced with an aim of calling for the resignation of Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) Chairperson Justice Jane Ansah.

Ansah and her fellow commissioners were declared incompetent by a panel of High Court judges sitting in a Constitutional Court, Parliament and the Supreme Court of Appeal.

She announced her resignation from her position on May 22, 2020 following the Supreme Court ruling on the presidential election appeal case.

HRDC Chairperson, Gift Trapence, told journalists on Tuesday in Lilongwe that the postponement of the protests is aimed at giving President Peter Mutharika time to appoint new MEC commissioners by 5 June this year.

The coalition has since warned that it will mobilise a 3 million march targeting the State House if the new commissioners are not appointed by the said date.

“HRDC also called for the immediate resignation of the Attorney General Kalekeni Kaphale by accusing him of being partisan.

“We are worried that we have a partisan Attorney General as well articulated by the two courts [Constitutional Court and Supreme Court of Appeal] where they both faulted him, and what we expected from him is just resign, he should not waste our time,” said Trapence.