JURIST - Paper Chase: Malawi lawmakers adopt impeachment procedures

[JURIST] The Malawi [government website; BBC country profile] parliament has adopted procedures for the impeachment of the country's president, who has been accused of misusing state funds and violating the country's constitution. Legislators approved the procedures late Tuesday in a growing dispute between President Bingu wa Mutharika [BBC News profile] and opposition politicians backed by former President Bakili Muluzi [BBC News profile]. Muluzi hand-picked wa Mutharika to succeed him, but the current president later defected from Muluzi's United Democratic Front party and began to form his own political party. The United Democratic Front then began efforts with other opposition parties to impeach wa Mutharika, which is allowed under the constitution, although no procedures for doing so existed. Under the recently approved procedures, a motion to impeach may be made after a legislator collects the signatures of at least one third of the parliament, and the president may then defend himself before parliament. AP has more.

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