Election Results Commentary

Gentlemen,
A fortnight before the polling day Muluzi declared, at a
rally, that Bingu does not know politics but HIM. I have never seen
this Muluzi doing any politics. Does he want to tell Malawians that
politics is just about castigating people. Politics is about
leadership, governance, and development. Mr Muluzi should go back to
school and learn what politics means.

Muluzi should look for a job as  tailor, driver, cook, or garden boy at the STATE HOUSE that is where he would do better!

I remain

Makiyolobasi

UDF faces reality of defeat as Malawians signal the dawn of new politics

United Democratic Front (UDF) has said it is ready to accept defeat
in the just ended general elections in which the incumbent President
Bingu wa Mutharika is leading.

UDF spokes-person Robert Jamieson said his party has received
unconfirmed reports about Bingu’s lead but said as a party they will
wait for an official announcement from Malawi Electoral Commission.

He said UDF is ready to accept defeat but hinted that it will only
be after the party has carefully examined the official results.

“We will have to examine the official results and if it is proved
that nobody tampered with the results we will accept,” he said.
Jamieson
who is among UDF gurus who have fallen in the Parliamentary elections
said after everything is settled about the general elections his party
will make serious decisions on their future.

He did not elaborate on what would happen to their coalition with Malawi Congress Party (MCP).

However, MCP general secretary Chris Daza said he was not ready to
comment on anything as regards to the results so far released.

Official Endorsement from Editorial: Bingu Wa Mutharika for President

Muluzi failing to pay legal fees

Lawyers for former president Bakili Muluzi say
they will not respond to Attorney General Jane Ansah’s demand that they
pay K15 million in legal costs incurred when handling a dismissed case
of their client’s candidacy.
The lawyers argued that they have taken the stand because the Electoral
Commission (EC), which the AG was representing in the matter, did not
present the actual bill.
But Ansah in an interview W ednesday said she would just take the
matter for taxation--a process where parties discuss costs of every
stage of the process.
One of Muluzi’s lawyers Kalekeni Kaphale described EC’s demand for K15 million as a big joke.
Kaphale said they would not bother to respond to the letter because the amount mentioned was exorbitant.
“We received a letter demanding our client to pay a bill of K15 million, but it is on the higher side,” he argued.
Asked on the next step, Kaphale said the Attorney General knows what to do.
On the other hand, Ansah said EC would not revert to Muluzi’s attorney and instead the matter would go straight to taxation.
“We demanded K15 million, so the next step is to go for taxation,” she said.
She said the two parties would discuss the bill then appear before the registrar for assessment.
Costs payable after losing a case are assessed by the Registrar of the High Court in the presence of both parties.
During this process, lawyers for both sides argue over the figures, but
the registrar has the prerogative to endorse the final figures.
A panel of three judges dismissed Muluzi’s challenge filed following
EC’s rejection of his bid to stand in next week’s presidential
elections.
The court ordered him to pay the costs.
The case was filed again and the Constitutional Court has reserved its ruling for this Friday.

Malawi is the second fastest growing economy in the world

LILONGWE, May 17 (Reuters) - Malawians vote on Tuesday in
parliamentary and presidential elections which could reignite
political tensions and threaten Western donor funding in one of
the world's poorest countries.

President Bingu wa Mutharika's chances of victory may have
increased significantly after Malawi's Constitutional Court
upheld on Saturday a decision to throw out an application by
former president Bakili Muluzi to contest the election.

Muluzi and main opposition leader John Tembo had forged an
unofficial alliance to take on wa Mutharika. Although he can no
longer run for president, Muluzi is unlikely to quit the bid to
beat the incumbent.

Wa Mutharika's tight fiscal management may give him an
advantage despite growing frustration among the poor.

He has won billions of dollars in debt relief for driving
reforms that have steered growth of around 7 percent a year for
the past three years.

Seven candidates, including one woman, are in the race. Wa
Mutharika took office in 2004, after winning an election marred
by violence and accusations of ballot rigging.

Investors are hoping for policy continuity in the southern
African country that depends heavily on tobacco exports.

An opposition win could throw the country into uncertainty
as the global economic crisis hits agricultural exports and it
may encourage Western donors to reconsider projects.

Donors account for 80 percent of Malawi's development budget
and stability is crucial for securing aid.

"The issue if the opposition wins is going to be the
alliance's stability -- given that it was only formed to oust
the incumbent," said Mike Davies, Middle East and Africa analyst
at Eurasia Group.

Malawi is the second fastest growing economy in the world,
according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. It managed to
bring down inflation from 30 percent to single digits in 2008.

But political upheaval has often overshadowed economic
gains, making Western donors uneasy and diverting attention away
from pressing problems such as poverty and AIDS.

Two thirds of the country's 13 million people live on less
than $1 a day and stalemates between the government and
opposition in parliament have held up budgets for months.

SIMMERING TENSIONS

Tensions have been brewing ahead of the election.

Muluzi was arrested in February and charged with stealing
millions of dollars of aid money during his decade as president
that ended 2004.

He remains a powerful political force despite his legal
troubles. Hailed as a hero in 1994 for removing dictator Kamuzu
Banda, Muluzi stepped down in 2004 after unsuccessfully trying
to change the constitution to allow him to stand again.

He announced a comeback bid last year and was later detained
on suspicion of being involved in a coup plot. The charges were
dropped.

"Political tensions will continue in the next five years
because of mistrust among the current political leadership,"
said University of Malawi political analyst Blessings Chisinga.

The direction of the economy is more predictable, with the
International Monetary Fund estimating 2008 expansion at 9.7
percent, boosted by growth of the telecommunication sector, high
tobacco sales and a strong maize harvest.

It also forecast strong growth for 2009 but warned of risks
from the global economic downturn.

Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe said commodity prices would
be under pressure but said the economy would benefit from
diversification away from agriculture -- most notably a uranium
mine that opened in April and which wa Mutharika said would
become Malawi's top foreign currency earner.