Divided opinion on UDF status
Two prominent lawyers have given different opinions on whether Speaker of Parliament should invoke Section 65 of the Constitution against United Democratic Front (UDF) members of Parliament (MPs) who have moved to the government benches in the National Assembly.
While some legal minds feel UDF’s position has created a “crisis” that calls for Speaker of Parliament Richard Msowoya to apply Section 65, others argue that in the context of the provision, UDF has not violated any law.
On Tuesday, the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) met Msowoya and told him the interfaith human rights watchdog and advocacy group was committed to seeing implementation of the thorny section that regulates crossing of the floor among the MPs.
PAC’s call came barely a week after 11 of UDF’s 14 MPs relocated to government side to enhance their party’s working relationship with the governing Democratic Progress Party (DPP).
But speaking to The Nation in an interview yesterday, constitutional law expert Edge Kanyongo, who is an associate professor of law at the University of Malawi’s Chancellor College, backed the UDF MPs, arguing Section 65 cannot whip them as they have not crossed the floor.
He said: “The section says one crosses the floor after resigning from their political party and joins another party in Parliament. In this case, I don’t think UDF MPs have resigned. I have not heard the party or the MPs announcing that they have joined the DPP. So, in my view, Section 65 does not apply on them.”
But another seasoned lawyer Justin Dzonzi of Justice Link said the current situation is a case where Section 65 should apply because of the divisions among the UDF MPs where others have moved to government benches while their hitherto leader in Parliament Lucius Banda has remained in the opposition.
He said the situation would have been different if all the UDF MPs had moved to government benches because that would have meant the association was between the two parties.
Said Dzonzi: “But since not everybody has moved to the government side, it means some of the UDF MPs would have associated with DPP and under those circumstances those would have crossed the floor, so I would generally agree with PAC’s sentiments.”
Veteran politician and former Alliance for Democracy (Aford) secretary general Dan Msowoya, whose party was once entangled in a similar situation when the UDF was in power (1994-2004), shared Dzonzi’s sentiments that Section 65 should apply.
Said Msowoya: “The whole process is a mockery because UDF is just trying to cover up the defection of its president [AtupeleMuluzi] to the DPP. If the Speaker does not apply the laws, the whole world will laugh at us as a Malawi that does not obey its own laws.”
The Speaker has said his office has no powers to implement the section unless it is moved.
But after the Tuesday meeting with the Speaker, PAC chairperson the Reverend Felix Chingota told The Nation: “If there was nothing wrong with the UDF crossing the floor why is it that their leader [in Parliament Lucius Banda] has refused to move to government benches? We have a crisis here and this should be sorted out.”
UDF has 11 MPs seated on the government side, which has increased DPP’s numerical strength in the 193-member National Assembly to 63. The MPs not affected by the move are Banda, party president and Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security Atupele Muluzi and Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament Clement Chiwaya.
Following the relocation, UDF last week woke up to the reality of its decision by discovering that it has no voice and identity in Parliament as the party missed on the schedule of opposition political parties to respond to the State of the Nation Address which President Peter Mutharika delivered on May 5 2015.
