by Patson Phiri – SANF 06 No 38
Malawi has embarked on the second amendment of its Constitution but two issues have assumed centre-stage – whether to limit the age of presidential candidates to 70 years or to lift a ban on floor crossing by sitting legislators.
The constitutional debate has generated a lot of interest among political parties, civil society, the media and Malawians keen to determine the destiny of their country.
The first amendment was in 1994 when the 1966 Constitution which favoured a one-party political system was repealed to allow for multi-partyism.
Attention during the current constitutional debate has centred on the contentious Section 65 of the Constitution which bars sitting parliamentarians from defecting to other political parties.
The section makes it illegal for Members of Parliament (MPs) to change allegiance during the course of their parliamentary term.
Section 65 states that “the Speaker shall declare vacant the seat of any member of the National Assembly who was, at the time of his or her election, a member of one party represented in Parliament but who has voluntarily ceased to be a member of that party and has joined another party represented in the National Assembly.”
President Bingu wa Mutharika has proposed that the section be removed from the Constitution because it infringes on rights of Members of Parliament.
Mutharika told a recent constitutional review conference held in Lilongwe that Section 65 contradicts Section 32 of the same Constitution, which guarantees freedom of association.
He noted that the constitutional review should safeguard the rights of individuals to belong to associations of their choice and not be forced to belong to any political party.
“Section 65, dealing with the issue of crossing the floor should be deemed not to be compatible with or contradictory to Section 32 (which gives a person freedom to belong to the association of their choice) and should accordingly be deleted from the Constitution,” said Mutharika.
Mutharika’s comments came as the political future of 68 MPs who defected to his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) hangs in the balance after defecting from the United Democratic Front (UDF).
Mutharika was elected on a UDF ticket before forming his own party following differences with his predecessor, Bakili Muluzi, who heads the UDF.
The DPP has 74 MPs, six of which were elected following by-elections early this year and the rest defected from the UDF.
The UDF has 30 MPs while the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) has 60 legislators in the House of Assembly.
Malawi’s parliament has a total of 193 legislators, 29 of whom are independents.
The constitutional debate has also centred on limiting the age of a presidential candidate to a maximum of 70 years.
This would effectively close the door for Mutharika and leaders of other political parties who are already above the proposed age limit.
President Mutharika is 72 this year while MCP’s John Tembo is 77 years.
Both leaders will not be eligible to contest the presidency during the next polls set for 2009 if the constitutional amendment goes through.
