No easy road to one-party—Lawyer
The call or desire for Malawi to have a one-party State is wishful thinking as it will require a referendum, a constitutional law expert has said.
The revelation comes after the ruling People’s Party (PP) secretary general Henry Chibwana on Mondaysuggested that it would be better to go back to the one-party State.
Addressing supporters after welcoming new members into the party in Lilongwe, Chibwana said the one-party State would be ideal provided it was serving the people.
He also claimed that opposition parties oppose just for the sake of opposing.
Professor Edge Kanyongolo, constitutional law expert, yesterday warned that Chibwana’s ambition has a long procedure.
Kanyongolo pointed out that the country has to go to a referendum first to judge people’s opinion and if they support it, then amend the Constitution.
“The sections that have to be amended are 12 and 40 of the Constitution. However, this (going back to one-party State) is the most outlandish statement I have heard over the years,” he said.
I hope Mr Chibwana’s statement did not represent the collective thinking of his party. People who think service delivery is all that matters, and therefore do not care about civil liberties, ought to be put very far from the corridors of power.