Reuters AlertNet Lite - Malawi dissolves parliament for May 19 election

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Malawi dissolves parliament for May 19 election

20 Mar 2009 10:47:56 GMT
Source: Reuters

LILONGWE, March 20 (Reuters) - President Bingu wa Mutharika dissolved Malawi's opposition-controlled parliament on Friday, enabling campaigning to get under way for the May 19 presidential and parliamentary election.

State House Press Officer Chikumbutso Mtumodzi told Reuters the presidential announcement "effectively stops all business until a new government is sworn in."

Eight candidates including one woman are running against wa Mutharika in the presidential race, but his main rivals remain his former mentor, ex-president Bakili Muluzi, and Malawi Congress Party leader John Tembo.

Muluzi is still popular in southern province -- the most populous region -- but it is not clear if graft charges he is facing will prevent him from standing for office.

Muluzi was arrested last month and charged with stealing millions of dollars given to Malawi by international donors during his decade as president, ending in 2004. He has denied any wrongdoing.

About 1,151 candidates are contesting parliamentary seats and around 5.8 million Malawians have registered to vote in the election.

The southern African nation relies heavily on balance of payments support from donors, which accounts for 80 percent of its development budget.

The economy had been enjoying a modest boom until it was hit last year by a jump in food and fuel costs. The latest government date put GDP growth at about seven percent last year. (Reporting by Mabvuto Banda, editing by Serena Chaudhry and Tim Pearce)

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