Lawyers challenge Mutharika’s power to postpone Parliament
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on The Nation Malawi
The Malawi Law Society says President Peter Mutharika had no constitutional power to order Speaker Sameer Suleman to postpone a sitting. It considers the directive illegal and unconstitutional, in a statement cited by The Nation Malawi after the postponement, justified by El Niño and fuel-related difficulties.
The Malawi Law Society is challenging the legality of President Peter Mutharika’s decision to postpone the fourth meeting of the 52nd session of Parliament, arguing that he cannot order the Speaker of the National Assembly to suspend proceedings. In a statement issued on 30 October, the Malawian lawyers’ association said Section 59(1) of the Constitution does not give the head of state this power, The Nation Malawi reports.
The provision allows the president, in consultation with the Speaker, to call a special session and prorogue Parliament, according to the statement signed by the association’s president, Davis Njobvu, and its honorary secretary, Francis M’mame. Mutharika’s decision was therefore, in their view, “ultra vires, illegal and unconstitutional”.
The president requested the postponement in a letter dated 23 October, citing the need to reallocate resources to the response to the El Niño phenomenon and fuel-related difficulties. The Speaker of the National Assembly, Sameer Suleman, announced the postponement on 28 October. The mid-year budget review meeting was due to begin on 9 November.
The legal challenge comes after the postponement of Malawi’s Parliament to fund the response to El Niño and fuel shortages, announced on 27 October. The dispute between the executive and legislature also resulted in opposition politician Nankhumwa making allegations on 31 October of threats to Parliament’s independence.
