
The Malawi Congress Party (MCP) must now brace itself for a stormy campaign ride following the confirmation from the Leader of Opposition George Chaponda that the proposal to table the infamous ‘Age Bill’ by Chitipa South Parliamentarian Welani Chilenga has been rejected at the business meeting of parliament.
The Business meeting is mandated to draft the agenda (order paper) of parliamentary proceedings, and according to Chaponda, “no presidential Age Limit Bill or petition is coming to parliament”.
“We have just ended the business committee meeting in readiness for the first meeting in the 51st Session of Parliament beginning this Friday, 14th February, 2025”, wrote Chaponda on his official Facebook page.
“As regards Presidential age limit, I can confirm that no Presidential age limit bill or petition is coming to Parliament. That is agreed.”
“We will always fight for constitutionalism. The constitution is sacred and should not be affected by petty issues,” declared Chaponda on Tuesday.
Mid last week, Cables, unearthed plans by the MCP to bring into Parliament the bill that was solely targeting the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Arthur Peter Mutharika.
But if Chaponda’s declaration is anything to go by, then the MCP has no option but to get ready and face their most feared opponent, Mutharika who came out as people’s favourite in the recent afro-barometer survey results.
Cables revelations, pushed a number of stakeholders who included the civil society and legal scholars into reactionary mood, with many describing the move as both unconstitutional and undemocratic.
MCP had a budget of K300 million just for the Age Bill.