Published: Sunday, 8 June, 2008, 07:04 AM Doha Time
BLANTYRE: Malawian President Bingu wa
Mutharika said yesterday the constitution does not allow his political
rival and the country’s former leader Bakili Muluzi to run for a third
term of office.
“For Bakili, according to our constitution, he is
not allowed to stand again,” Mutharika told a rally here, speaking of
next year’s general elections. He added that if the constitution
allowed the ex-president to stand in 2009, he would not have “hired 24
lawyers” to fight a legal battle at the high court over his candidacy.
“I am standing next year, but I will not hire a lawyer,” said Mutharika, who has served one term since 2004.
Muluzi
faces a court battle over whether he can contest the vote, the fourth
since the country’s first democratic elections in 1994.
He ruled the impoverished southern African nation from 1994 to 2004 before handing over power to his chosen successor Mutharika.
The
former president wrestled power from dictator Kamuzu Banda in 1994, but
failed in his bid before the 2004 polls to amend the constitution to
allow him to stand for a third term.
Mutharika has been at odds with
the ex-leader since he ditched Muluzi’s former ruling United Democratic
Front to form his own party.
He recently voiced fears of a plot to topple him, allegedly hatched by Muluzi’s party and an ex-army chief.
Muluzi was arrested but not formally charged by police over allegations of the coup plot.
He
has laughed off the accusations, saying documents that were said to
link him to the plot were intended to wreck his bid to win back his old
office in upcoming elections. – AFP
BLANTYRE: Malawian President Bingu waMutharika said yesterday the constitution does not allow his political
rival and the country’s former leader Bakili Muluzi to run for a third
term of office.
“For Bakili, according to our constitution, he is
not allowed to stand again,” Mutharika told a rally here, speaking of
next year’s general elections. He added that if the constitution
allowed the ex-president to stand in 2009, he would not have “hired 24
lawyers” to fight a legal battle at the high court over his candidacy.
“I am standing next year, but I will not hire a lawyer,” said Mutharika, who has served one term since 2004.
Muluzi
faces a court battle over whether he can contest the vote, the fourth
since the country’s first democratic elections in 1994.
He ruled the impoverished southern African nation from 1994 to 2004 before handing over power to his chosen successor Mutharika.
The
former president wrestled power from dictator Kamuzu Banda in 1994, but
failed in his bid before the 2004 polls to amend the constitution to
allow him to stand for a third term.
Mutharika has been at odds with
the ex-leader since he ditched Muluzi’s former ruling United Democratic
Front to form his own party.
He recently voiced fears of a plot to topple him, allegedly hatched by Muluzi’s party and an ex-army chief.
Muluzi was arrested but not formally charged by police over allegations of the coup plot.
He
has laughed off the accusations, saying documents that were said to
link him to the plot were intended to wreck his bid to win back his old
office in upcoming elections. – AFP
Posts
Chinese
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Russian
Spanish
No comments:
Post a Comment