Opposition spurns unity call

Malawi's opposition parties have rejected calls by re-elected president Bakili Muluzi to "work together as a people in the best interests of our country". Heatherwick Ntaba, the general secretary of Malawi Congress Party (MCP) told IRIN on Thursday that as far as his party is concerned, Muluzi did not win last month's presidential elections. "We reject Muluzi's so-called mandate to govern the country," Ntaba said. "Muluzi did not win the elections against our candidate Gwanda Chakuamba, he stole the votes. That is why we are going to court on 12 July to ask the judge to annul the presidential elections. We won't concede defeat because we know we did not lose," Ntaba said. He expressed disappointment that international observers declared the 15 June elections "substantially fair", despite at least four of the nine-member national electoral commission having refused to certify the poll results. "In this context, we will never work with someone who is a thief. We have not lost the elections, we were robbed of victory that we think we rightfully deserve," Ntaba said. He added that the only way out of the dispute was for Muluzi to stand down. According to the official election returns, Muluzi won just over 51 percent of the vote beating Chakuamba into second place on 44 percent.