MALAWI: Mutharika's new party faces stiff challenges - analysts

Photo: US Embassy in Malawi

President Bingu wa Mutharika will face major challenges for the remainder of his time in office

JOHANNESBURG, 30 May 2005 (IRIN) - Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika can expect to face some major challenges for the remainder of his term in office after deciding to formally sever ties with the party that brought him to power, analysts warned on Monday. Mutharika launched his own political party on Sunday, three months after a bitter fallout with the United Democratic Front (UDF) forced him to resign from the former ruling party. Political observers pointed out that Mutharika's newly-formed Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was likely to face an uphill battle in parliament. "The DPP is expected to water down some of the UDF's political clout, but it will have to deal with a lot of criticism as it struggles to create some kind of political identity. There are already accusations being made that Mutharika only used the UDF to gain the presidency," Boniface Dulani, a political science lecturer at the University of Malawi, told IRIN. Mutharika was thrown his first challenge in March, soon after his dramatic defection from the UDF. His appointment of Mary Nangwale as the first woman inspector-general of police was rejected by parliament after the UDF and the largest opposition party, the Malawi Congress Party, collaborated to outvote Mutharika's and his allies. The rejection of Nangwale further exacerbated the frosty relationship between the executive and the legislature. Mutharika, a surprise choice as the UDF's candidate in the 2004 elections, was seen as former president Bakili Muluzi's final attempt to influence the future of Malawian politics, after increasing pressure by civil society forced him to abandon his bid for a third term. But Mutharika's relationship with Muluzi soured soon after he gained the top job, while the arrest of senior UDF members as a result of his anti-corruption campaign has made him unpopular among sections of the party. Muluzi, who remains at the helm of the UDF, the entered the fray, sparking a war of words between the two senior leaders that has split the party. Dulani said Mutharika would have to do some serious legwork to consolidate his political base. "Muluzi still commands a great deal of support in Malawi, mainly because of the UDF's history. Although Mutharika has pulled together some of the smaller opposition parties and a few senior UDF leaders, he still needs to convince the broader electorate." The UDF, under the Muluzi's leadership, emerged to challenge the dictatorship of Hastings Banda, winning the country's first multiparty elections in 1994. But observers say protracted internal politicking threatens to draw attention away from the country's most pressing issue: poverty reduction. Around 65 percent of Malawians survive on less than a US dollar a day, while consecutive poor harvests have also led to mounting food insecurity in recent years. Tobias Jere, a researcher at the Centre for Social Concern, told IRIN: "The politicians need to move ahead and make a difference in people's daily lives, but this is being overshadowed by these squabbles. It's all fine and well that Mutharika has his own party now, but it's only going to lead to more confusion, as Malawians question the credibility of the party."