Government petitioned to postpone election

The four opposition candidates in Malawi's presidential election have asked the country's High Court to postpone the 25 May elections in a writ claiming voter registration had been biased in favour of President Baskili Muluzi's governing United Democratic Front (UDF) Party, news organisations reported on Tuesday. A lawyer representing the four candidates, Bazuka Mhango, said they sought a three-week gap between the last day of registration and election day. The registration process was extended from 3 May to 14 after logistical problems in drawing up the full list of the country's four million eligible voters. This had resulted in "thousands' being unable to register. But Malawi's information minister, Sam Mpasu, in an interview with the BBC rejected the postponement request as "irresponsible". He said the candidates were trying to create a constitutional crisis.