Speaker comments on House seating plan
Malawi’s democratic architecture has once again failed to provide clarity on the position—both in Parliament and in the eyes of citizens—of a non-voted party assuming governing power by default.
With People’s Party (PP) in charge of government, debate has ensued on whether PP, which President Joyce Banda formed after the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) sacked her in December 2010, is a “ruling” party after her presidency following president Bingu wa Mutharika’s death 12 days ago.
If the National Assembly was to be called today, the likelihood of chaos in the seating plan is high. Traditionally, the House’s seating arrangements are demarcated largely into two sides of the aisle—ruling and opposition benches.
DPP, which won both the presidency and a parliamentary majority in 2009, was the ruling party and occupied the governing side of the House.
But with the State President now coming from a different group, the country’s democratic architecture—modelled on a fusion of the United States and British systems—is again at crossroads as was the case in 2005 when Mutharika left the United Democratic Front (UDF) to form DPP.
Legal or illegal
And as was also the case then, PP may use both legal and illegal means to gain a working majority in Parliament, according to University of Malawi’s Chancellor College constitutional expert Edge Kanyongolo.
The legal path, he said, could see PP’s Banda appointing members of other parties to work with government in Cabinet or pick the second vice-president from another party with a lot of parliamentarians. The illegal path may involve buying opposition MPs into PP’s fold.
“This has to be done while at the same time avoiding Section 65 [of crossing the floor] of the Constitution,” said Kanyongolo, observing that following the 2001 amendment, Section 65 now applies to even parties with no representation in Parliament.
On whether it is correct to call PP a “ruling” party, Kanyongolo said the Constitution or the country’s laws rarely deal with political parties and that there is nothing like opposition or ruling party in the laws.
He said with the presidency going to PP, it means the party now has the mandate to push government agenda in Parliament.
Although since the death of Mutharika a number of DPP MPs have shown interest to work with PP, during the last sitting of Parliament, only four MPs openly supported the new governing party. PP did not contest the 2009 elections.
The PP scenario is not unique as in 1994 UDF, during that year’s general election, failed to secure a majority and had to rope in Alliance for Democracy (Aford) into a governing alliance with then president Bakili Muluzi appointing Aford leader Chakufwa Chihana second vice-president.
Nothing has changed
In Parliament, Speaker Henry Chimunthu Banda said Monday nothing has changed in the House’s seating arrangements despite DPP losing the presidency.
In an interview, Chimunthu Banda said political parties have not written him on seating plans in the National Assembly.
In the last sitting of Parliament, DPP had 136 seats in the 193-member National Assembly whereas the opposition, which included MCP, UDF, Aford, Mafunde, independents and sympathisers of PP, had 56 seats.
Several DPP MPs members have expressed interest to work with PP.
In an interview on Monday, Leader of the House Dr George Chaponda said the DPP is yet to meet to discuss how, as a bloc, it will operate in the House.
President Banda has hinted that she would consider a government of national unity (GNU), but PP secretary general Henry Chibwana said that it would be too early for PP to divulge how it will work and whom it will work with.
