Chaos deepens at Malawi Parliament

Malawi's budget session of Parliament has been suspended indefinitely again putting in limbo the 2007/2008 fiscal budget.

Hell-broke loose when ruling party MPs asked deputy Speaker Jones Chingola to call for a vote on whether the budget should take precedence over issues surrounding Section 65 of the Constitution which regulates defection of MPs.

Government proposed a secret ballot but the opposition, which dominates the 193-member House, opted for a "roll-call" vote. The opposition triumphed.

Chingola announced that 83 MPs had voted "no" while 71 had voted "yes". Three MPs abstained while 21 were absent.

This, according to Chingola, meant that the budget could not be discussed.

Therefore, leader of Government Business in Parliament Henry Chimunthu Banda suggested that since the main aim of the session was the budget then Parliament be suspended indefinitely.

But the opposition insisted issues surrounding the anti-defection laws be discussed.

There was no agreement since both sides wanted to be heard at the same time, forcing the deputy Speaker to suspend proceedings indefinitely amid the cacophony.

Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe described the scenario as the "worst crisis" in Malawi's history.

"Nothing can move, we are hamstrung, I don't know how we will run affairs of state," he said,

The 2007/08 budget, which was supposed to be effective 1 July, has been dogged by controversy.

It was first suspended following the death of the First Lady Ethel Mutharika on 30 May. When it resumed on 28 June, opposition MPs insisted MPs who defected to President Bingu wa Mutharika's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) from the opposition be expelled first before the budget is discussed.

This led to a further indefinite suspension.

On 15 June the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that MPs that left their parties to join others in parliament after an election should be deemed to have "crossed the floor" and must lose their seats in Parliament.

This will greatly affect the Mutharika administration since he founded the DPP after quitting the former ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) which sponsored his candidature during the 2004 elections.

All but five MPs of the DPP either resigned from their parties or joined the party after being elected as independents.

President Mutharika on Sunday warned that should the opposition insist on blocking the budget he would evoke emergency powers, dismiss Parliament and rule by decree until fresh elections are held.

According to law, the president can dismiss Parliament but must call fresh parliamentary elections within 60 days.