Parliament and the Ministry of Justice have said they are not aware of a proposed Bill seeking to amend the Constitution to cap the maximum age for presidential candidates.
Clerk of Parliament Fiona Kalemba said in an interview yesterday that there has not been any process initiated for the tabling of such a Bill.
“The business committee [of Parliament] has not met and we are not aware of that Bill as of yet,” she said.
Kalemba said Parliamentary Standing Orders state that a copy of any Bill should be circulated to each legislator 28 days before its first reading in the House.
President Lazarus Chakwera will open the 51st session of Parliament on February 14 2025 which will run up to April 11 2025.
The Nation interviewed Kalemba in the wake of reports at the weekend that a private member’s Bill would be tabled in Parliament to amend Section 80 (6)(b) of the Constitution and bar any person above 80 years of age from contesting for the presidency.
On the other hand, Ministry of Justice spokesperson Frank Namangale said if there is indeed such a Bill, then it is not coming from the government because Minister of Justice Titus Mvalo is not aware of it.
“The minister has no knowledge of this Bill, nor has he seen it anywhere. Thus, if there is an age-capping Bill, it will likely be tabled as a private member’s Bill, since any member of Parliament can introduce such a Bill to Parliament,” he said.
In a separate interview, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) secretary general Peter Mukhito said he issued a statement denouncing the Bill after being “well informed” that the business committee of Parliament, which lays out business to be transacted in the House, will discuss the Bill at its meeting this week.
In the statement, he said the Bill was an attempt to sideline DPP presidential candidate Peter Mutharika, 84, from the September 16 2025 General Election.
“This action not only endangers Malawi’s democratic ethos but also contravenes international commitments to fair and just governance,” reads the statement.
On his part, Leader of Opposition in Parliament George Chaponda, a member of the business committee, said the opposition will look to deal with the issue if it comes up at the business committee meeting.
But in a separate interview, Leader of Government Business in Parliament Richard Chimwendo Banda said the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) is not planning to table a Bill on age limit.
He said: “We have never sat down at any time to think about the alleged Bill. This is their own propaganda to trick Malawians that MCP is afraid of Peter Mutharika.”
Last year, Mulanje Central legislator Kondwani Nankhumwa planned to present a similar Bill in Parliament but he later withdrew the proposed legislation.
A similar move failed in 2018 when former DPP legislator for Nsanje South West Joseph Chidanti Malunga had proposed that the maximum age for those aspiring for the presidency should be capped at 65.
Currently, Section 80(6) of the Constitution stipulates that a person is eligible for election as President or Vice-President if he or she is a citizen of Malawi by birth or descent and has attained the minimum age of 35.
