Day's Diary

July 5, 2007 ~ Democracy Tested

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Ironically, as those of you in the U.S. have been celebrating the joys and freedoms of democracy, we in Malawi have been putting the strength of Democracy to the test. The next few days and weeks will prove its strength in a nation of citizens who want to make it work. The questions is, do the politicians?

The present situation is rooted in the multi-party system that was given birth in 1994. Prior to that there was a president for life elected from one party only. In the new constitution that was written, a section (Section 65) states that if a member of Parliament crosses out of his party to another party, he must relinquish his seat in Parliament. Then there must be an election to fill that seat, or the seat must remain vacant until the next general election. This has been part of the Constitution since the beginning, but few paid attention to it. In fact, during the last Presidency, when someone “crossed the floor” – moved parties – the Presidential party, the UDF, applauded because it usually meant someone had moved to the UDF. This served their purposes, so there was no mention of Section 65.

In 2004, however, the current president was elected under the UDF party, but shortly afterward, changed parties as he founded the DPP party. This did not violate the constitution, but when members of Parliament followed him, it did. The UDF was losing members and power and they began to object. They called to enforce Section 65.

The President challenged the interpretation of the Constitution that declared for the seats to be vacated. The challenge went to the Supreme Court for a ruling. About three weeks ago, the Supreme Court upheld Section 65. This has raised great speculation as to what would happen. Immediately, nothing happened since Parliament was not meeting because the nation was in a 30 day period of mourning for the late First Lady. That ended June 30th and the political fireworks began.

The budget for the new fiscal year, beginning July 1, had not passed because of the suspension of Parliament for the period of mourning. So the budget was the first item of business. The Parliament passed a temporary 30 day budget while they worked on the permanent budget. On Monday, instead of starting with the budget, the opposition wanted Section 65 to be acted upon by the Speaker of Parliament to declare vacant all those seats of members who had crossed the floor. This would have meant there were not be enough members for a quorum. It also would have meant that the bi-elections would have to be held immediately, which would involve an astronomical budget. This presents two major problems. First, there is no budget and second, there is no electoral commission to conduct the elections. The appointment of the commission has been held up by a court injunction by the UDF under the pretext that the President did not consult the opposition parties. UDF demanded that the Speaker declare the seats vacant. Parliament dissolved into arguing and the UDF resorted to abusive language, demanding that Section 65 be discussed before the budget was considered. Parliament was dismissed indefinitely and they are at an impasse.

There are a number of alternatives. One is that there be discussions going on behind the scenes to reconvene Parliament as soon as possible. That is actually happening quietly. Second, since the opposition (UDF and MCP) when combining have the majority, the opposition might push for a government of national unity, and demand that their members be in ministerial positions. Third, as a last resort, the President could declare a state of emergency and rule by decree until the general elections are held in 2009. This would mean that the army would be the police. No one, including the President, wants this alternative. So we are waiting. The government is still trying to persuade the nation to understand its position. We are praying for reason to prevail. Up to this point, everything has remained quiet among the general population. Malawians are patient people and they are willing to wait for as along as it takes to straighten things out. For this month the government and all its services can function because of the temporary budget. Once the money runs out, things may change. Hopefully there will be a compromise and some headway before things reach that point. Please pray for the democracy of Malawi.