Malawi ex-president begins court bid to ascertain come-back bid

Malawi High Court Tuesday began hearing in a case in which former president Bakili Muluzi was being challenged over his eligibility to run as a presidential candidate in next year's general elections, because he has already served the constitutional two consecutive five-year terms.

James Phiri, a member of Muluzi's former ruling United Democratic Front (UDF), sought court intervention on the former president's controversial come-back bid.

"According to the Malawi constitution, the defendant (Bakili Muluzi) is not eligible to stand as a presidential candidate in the forth-coming general elections," Phiri's lawyer, Christopher Chiphwanya, told a three-judge panel.

Chiphwanya told the judges that his client, a bonafide member of the UDF, wants democracy to prevail, noting that this will be impossible if Muluzi was allowed to stand again as president.

"The ambit of the summons are to seek to move this court to find out if the defendant is illegible to be nominated by the party as the party's presidential candidate," he said.

Muluzi, who served two constitutional terms from 1994, was in April overwhelmingly voted by a convention of his former ruling party as the presidential candidate, beating the country's vice president Cassim Chilumpha by 1,950 to 38 votes.

Neither Muluzi nor Phiri appeared in court.

Making a preliminary ruling, Justice Edward Twea said it was premature to bring Muluzi's candidature to court because - although the UDF has nominated Muluzi as candidate - the Malawi Electoral Commission has not received his nomination papers, making him just a presumptive candidate.

"We need to have a consensus on how and when a citizen of this country becomes a presidential candidate under the constitution and other laws," he said.

All presidential aspirants will present nomination papers to the country's electoral commission in January, four months before the 19 May 2009 polls.

However, Kalekeni Kaphale, one of the 24 lawyers representing Muluzi, told the court that it should "determine the dispute now", to allow UDF "to have a lot of certainty as to who is eligible and competent to be their candidate."

According to Kaphale: "The UDF does not want to wait for nomination day as the party may not have the capacity to appoint an alternative."

Judge Twea said the panel would deliver its ruling 25 July.

Solicitor General Anthony Kamanga, who represented the government as an "interested party", told the court the issue about Muluzi's candidacy was "premature as we are not yet there."

"Strictly speaking, I would submit the issue is premature," said Kamanga, adding "I don't think it is yet settled, we are not yet there."

If allowed to contest, Muluzi will be the main challenger to incumbent President Bingu wa Mutharika.

The ex-leader reluctantly handed over power to his chosen successor, Mutharika, having failed to amend the constitution to allow him to stand for a third term, after running his constitutional two five-year terms in 2004.

Muluzi and Mutharika fell out nine months after the elections, with the latter accusing the former of high-level corruption.

Muluzi has since publicly vowed to exact vengeance on the "ungrateful" Mutharika, saying

"I cannot fail to deflate a tyre I personally inflated," alluding to the fact that he single-handedly made Mutharika president.