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Opposition Walks Out on Malawi President's Address

Lameck Masina

   LILONGWE, MALAWI - Opposition lawmakers in Malawi walked out of
   parliament Friday as President Peter Mutharika started delivering the
   state of the nation address.

   The opposition was protesting the president and the May 21 election,
   which they said Mutharika won by fraud.

   Opposition lawmakers, mainly from the Malawi Congress Party or MCP,
   kept interrupting Mutharika every time he tried to speak, disrupting
   parliament business for nearly 30 minutes.

   This forced the speaker of parliament, Catherine Gotani Hara, to order
   the ringleaders out of the room.

   But MCP lawmakers volunteered to all walk out in solidarity with their
   colleagues.

   Eisenhower Mkaka, general secretary of the MCP, said, "What we did in
   parliament today was simply in agreement with what [MCP leader]Dr.
   Lazarus Chakwera said --that he doesn't acknowledge President Arthur
   Peter Mutharika's presidency in this country. ... Wedon't accept the
   results that were announced by the Malawi Electoral Commission."

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