Impeachment debate postponed till September

The debate on the controversial motion to allow MPs to impeach President Bingu wa Mutharika is likely to continue in September when parliament resumes, according to official sources. Political bickering between Mutharika and his political rival, former president of the country and now chairman of the United Democratic Front (UDF), Bakili Muluzi, has been raging since last month, when the UDF proposed the motion because Mutharika had left the party after it sponsored him in the national elections. The 193-member parliament began the debate on Mutharika's impeachment in June, but it was halted when the then Speaker, Rodwell Munyenyembe, collapsed in the house. Parliament was to have debated the legal affairs committee's report on the proposed motion on Tuesday, but government spokesman Ken Lipenga said the Speaker ruled that the committee should report back again, after it had had "consulted widely enough with civil society" on the matter. The political impasse had held up approval of the budget, which was finally passed by parliament last Friday after a compromise had been reached between the parties, said Lipenga. The Public Affairs Committee (PAC), a grouping of religious organisations, has been mediating between the various rival groupings, which include the Malawi Congress Party, the largest opposition group, led by John Tembo. Political analysts said although parliament had approved the budget, the rift between government and opposition was expected to continue. "I cannot see PAC succeeding in bringing the opposition and government together, especially when Tembo has refused to join government as Malawi's second vice-president - he has made his position clear," said Necton Mhura, Dean of the Faculty of Law at Chancellor College. IRIN was unable to get a comment from the PAC.