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Parliament to decide on third term bid

President Bakili Muluzi of Malawi has banned all demonstrations related to his possible bid for a third term in office in 2004. Tension is building in Malawi between pro-ruling party supporters and religious organisations, human rights groups and NGOs who have thrown their weight against any attempt to amend the constitution to allow Muluzi to run again. Critics of the government's unofficial campaign, have threatened protest action to persuade Muluzi not to stand again. "As commander-in-chief of the armed forces, as commander-in-chief of the police services, I have the obligation to protect the people of this country. I will not allow anarchy in this county," Muluzi told a public rally on Tuesday in announcing his ban on demonstrations either for or against a constitutional amendment. "We can clearly see history repeating itself here. It was people surrounding Kamuzu Banda who made him life president and today, it is again people surrounding Muluzi pressing for the third term even when the move is unconstitutional," said Seodi White, Director for Women in Law in Southern Africa (WILSA). Muluzi has maintained an official silence on whether he intends to run for a third term. Justice Minister and Attorney General Henry Phoya recently said that the third term issue would not be on the government's agenda when parliament meets on Friday. However, state radio reported on Wednesday that a private member's bill to amend Section 83 of the constitution limiting presidential tenure would be introduced. The bill is to be moved by Khwauli Msiska of the Alliance for Democracy (AFORD), an opposition party that two weeks ago declared during a controversial convention in the northern city of Mzuzu that it would not support any amendment to section 83. Although Muluzi, 60, has not publically commented on the issue other than saying he would defer to parliament, the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) has launched a number of public rallies around the country at which party officials have lobbied for a third term. Chiefs have also been drafted into the campaign. Last week, more than 100 chiefs who were put up in hotels, at the tax-payers expense, requested that Muluzi should stand again. A week before they had visited Muluzi at the official Sanjika Palace in Blantyre, he had ordered a 25 percent pay rise for all of them with effect from June 2002. Traditional chiefs in Malawi are on the government's payroll. But the Catholic and Presbyterian churches, with more than seven million followers, have spoken out against any constitutional change that would allow Muluzi to stand after his current second term expires. The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP), established under the Episcopal Conference of Malawi, said the third term issue had created confusion, fear and division among Malawians and that scarce resources were being wasted to promote the third term agenda. "We judge that the third term contradicts the common good, because it seeks the interests of only a few. We would like to put it on record, therefore, that we as CCJP say an absolute no to a third term," a statement said. The Council for Non-Governmental Organisations in Malawi (CONGOMA) said in a statement that the reasons for limiting the tenure of office for the office of the presidency to two five-year terms "are still as valid today as they were during the formulation of the constitution". The organisation said: "In the case of the intended amendment of Section 83 (3) of the Republic of Malawi, direct participation of the citizens of this country through a referendum is a better option to a parliamentary debate because proceedings in parliament, have recently shown tendencies towards serving personal and party interests, rather than national and democratic interests of ordinary Malawians." The UDF has 92 seats in the 193-member parliament, well short of the two-thirds majority needed for constitutional amendments. However, the two major opposition parties - the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and AFORD - are split. Both have factions that are working with the government.

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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