wfn.org | Malawian Church against Extending Presidential Term

["Frank Imhoff" <FRANKI@elca.org>]

Malawian Church against Constitutional Change to Extend
Presidential Term
"Attempt to Prolong One-Party Rule Can Lead to the Making of a
Dictator"

LILONGWE, Malawi/GENEVA, 7 October 2002 (LWI) - The Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Malawi (ELCM) has spoken out against ongoing
attempts by the government to change the national constitution to
accommodate a third term for the incumbent President Dr. Bakili
Muluzi. He has been in office since 1994 when his United
Democratic Front (UDF) defeated self-declared Life President
Kamuzu Banda's Malawi Congress Party.

At a human rights workshop, August 10-13, on the involvement of
men, women and youth in good governance, ELCM delegates drawn from
congregations countrywide, declared any move to extend the
president's term as "unconstitutional and an attempt to prolong
one-party leadership which can lead to the making of a dictator
and weakening of all other political opposition parties," Bishop
Joseph P. Bvumbwe, head of the Malawian Lutheran church, told
Lutheran World Information (LWI).

Bvumbwe said a pastoral letter will be sent out to all ELCM
congregations stating the church's stand on this concern.
Delegates at the human rights workshop, sponsored by the Lutheran
World Federation (LWF) Office for International Affairs and Human
Rights, also condemned the government's monopoly over national
media, particularly its use of television and radio as campaign
propaganda tools for the ruling party. They urged the government
to open up the media to all political parties so that "all voices
can be heard."

The next presidential elections in the Southern African country
are due in mid 2004. Under the current constitution, presidents
can only serve two five-year terms but a new bill to be introduced
in parliament in November would allow three terms. The bill had
been presented in July but it failed to get the two-thirds
majority required to change the constitution.

The controversial proposal to prolong the incumbent's term has in
the recent past led to political violence, tension between the
government and judiciary and caused divisions among religious
leaders. Christian church leaders spoke out against a third term,
while some Muslim groups supported it. More than 75 percent of
Malawi's 10.4 million population is Christian while Muslims
represent around 20 percent. Muluzi is a Muslim.

Asked what he felt had gone wrong with Malawi, Bvumbwe said, "Like
all other leaders, our democratically elected president has fallen
to the temptation of power. He has failed to act as an honest
leader, and has failed to live up to the ideals he vowed to stand
for when he took his oath of office."

For the head of the 25,000-member Lutheran church, Muluzi has let
the Malawian people down. "In many ways, the country is poorer,
there is increasing media suppression, little tolerance of
opposing views, and people are going hungry partly because of
political negligence." He pointed out that although the Southern
Africa region currently faces drought and serious food shortages
threatening the lives of millions of people, "In Malawi it is also
due to negligence on the part of our leaders. Large quantities of
grain were sold for cash. Some 1,000 people died in 2001 because
of hunger."

Bvumbwe is an advisor on the LWF Council, sitting on the Program
Committee for Mission and Development, as well as on its Project
Committee. The ELCM, an LWF member church since 1988, is
celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now
has 136 member churches in 76 countries representing over 61.7
million of the 65.4 million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on
behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as
ecumenical relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human
rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and
development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva,
Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the information service of
the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). Unless specifically noted,
material presented does not represent positions or opinions of the
LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an article
contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced
with acknowledgment.]

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