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New MPs swearing in June 17-18

Parliament has set June 17 and 18 as dates for swearing in the 2019-2024 cohort of legislators elected in the May 21 2019 Tripartite Elections.

Clerk of Parliament Fiona Kalemba said in a statement that the legislators’ oath of office will be followed by election of the House’s Speaker, First Deputy Speaker and Second Deputy Speaker.

She said: “The swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected members of Parliament [MPs] will take place from 17th to 18th June in the Parliament chamber in Lilongwe.

Kalemba: There will be orientation

“Prior to the swearing -in ceremony, there will be an orientation workshop for the members-elect to be held at Bingu International Convention Centre from 10th to 14th June.”

The orientation workshop is expected to equip newly-elected MPs with information on government operations and contemporary issues relevant to their parliamentary work.

The swearing-in ceremony will be followed by a meeting of Parliament to debate and approve the 2019/20 National Budget.

But Parliament spokesperson Ian Mwenye said in an interview that exact dates when the House will meet will be communicated in due course after a nod from the President.

President Peter Mutharika, who contested the election on Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) ticket, narrowly retained the presidency after beating his closest challenger Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and the country’s former vice-president Saulos Chilima of UTM Party finished third.

There were seven presidential candidates in total.

In the parliamentary race, DPP won 62 seats in the 193-seat National Assembly followed by MCP and independent candidates with 55 apiece.

In the new Parliament, United Democratic Front (UDF) will have 10 seats, People’s Party (PP) five, UTM Party four and Alliance for Democracy (Aford) two.

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