Malawi president questions expulsion of MPs

Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika yesterday questioned a supreme court ruling that allowed the expulsion of defecting politicians and could lead to the fall of his minority government.

"Many Malawians are puzzled as I am with the ruling. What redress will the people of Malawi get if it turns out that the supreme court erred?" Mutharika asked in a statement broadcast live on state television. "What were the compelling reasons for the court to rule this way? The judges ignored the fact that MPs are free to move from one party to another."

A panel led by Chief Justice Leonard Unyolo last month granted powers to the Speaker of parliament, Louis Chimango, to invoke constitutional provision Section 65 to expel any politician who changed party affiliation.

Some 60 of the parliament's 193 members will be affected by the ruling, half of whom crossed the floor to join Mutharika's ruling Democratic Progress party.

Mutharika had approached the court to give a definite ruling on the constitutional provision after opposition parties started pressing for the dismissal of politicians who change party affiliation.