Third-term controversy ends

A controversial bid for a third term by President Bakili Muluzi of Malawi appears to be over with this weekend's announcement by the ruling party of a new candidate for the 2004 election. The United Democratic Front's (UDF) National Executive Committee (NEC) endorsed 68-year-old economist Bingu wa Mutharika as its presidential candidate on Saturday. Mutharika comes from Thyolo District 40 km southeast of the commercial city Blantyre and, until February this year, was deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Malawi before being appointed minister in the newly created Department of Economics and Planning. He holds a master's degree in economics and development planning. Until 1998, Mutharika was secretary-general of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa. He stood unsuccessfully in the 1999 Malawi presidential elections, representing his hastily formed United Democratic Party (UDP), which he later left to rejoin the ruling party. He has also held senior positions with the World Bank and the United Nations. "It's a great honour for me to be unanimously voted with 100 percent [of the] votes," Mutharika told IRIN. "My priority will be to turn around things in the country to resume growth. The rest will follow later." Muluzi announced the decision in a special broadcast on national radio and television on Sunday. The Malawi constitution allows a president two consecutive five-year terms in office. The bid to have Muluzi serve a third term, and a proposed constitutional amendment to allow it, had sparked political tension and acts of violence which left three people dead and many others injured. It was opposed by human rights organisations, the diplomatic community, university students and members of the clergy. Last July the National Assembly rejected proposals to amend the constitution. Attorney-general and Justice Minister Henry Phoya re-introduced the bill in February this year, only to quickly withdraw it when indications showed it would suffer another defeat. Muluzi, who kept an official silence about his position on the third-term issue, said in reference to the heated debates: "Because I strongly believe in the freedom of expression, it would have been improper for me to comment on this constitutional matter." In Sunday's message Muluzi condemned the political violence, often allegedly orchestrated by the "Young Democracts" of his ruling party, and ordered police to arrest anyone who championed it. The other two presidential hopefuls, Aleke Banda (Agriculture Minister) and Harry Thomson (Environmental Affairs Minister) received no votes in Saturday's NEC meeting. Mutharika nominated Cassim Chilumpha as his running mate. Chilumpha, a former minister of finance and education, was removed from the cabinet after being named in an as yet unresolved US $2 million scandal. He currently chairs Blantyre Print and Packaging, publishers of tabloids The Daily Times and the weekend Malawi News. Muluzi said the ruling party had requested him to become UDF national chairman, which he said he would consider.