US embassy cable - 05LILONGWE634

UNCLAS LILONGWE 000634 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/S, INR/AA 
MCC FOR KEVIN SABA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/25/2015 
TAGS: KDEM, PGOV, PINR, PREL, TBIO, MI, Parliament, Political, President 
SUBJECT: PARLIAMENT ADJOURNS; IMPEACHMENT MOTIONS PUT OFF 
 
REF: A. LILONGWE 508 
     B. LILONGWE 614 
     C. LILONGWE 540 
 
1. SUMMARY: (U) Parliament adjourned Thursday July 22 after 
passing the 2005/06 budget, electing a new Speaker, and 
addressing other legislative issues.  Parliament did not, 
however, address the impeachment procedure bill that had been 
tabled before the they temporarily adjourned on June 23 
(Reftel C). They are expected to bring the procedural bill 
back up at their next sitting in September, though the 
likelihood of an actual impeachment motion being proposed in 
the future remains unclear. END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (SBU) Member of Parliament Louis Chimango sat for the 
first time as Speaker on Monday July 18, after being 
unanimously elected to the position.  Chimango is a member of 
the opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and has been a 
Parliamentarian since 1978.  Educated in the U.K., Chimango 
has previously served as Minister of Health, Minister of 
Finance, and Minister of Education and Culture among other 
roles.  He was a close friend of the late Hastings Banda, and 
is well respected by most MPs. (COMMENT) Post believes 
Chimango will not seek reelection, and this will be his last 
role in government. 
 
3. (U) Parliament spent the week of July 18 addressing 
legislative bills centered on updating Malawi's taxation and 
procurement laws, bringing them in line with international 
standards. For example, they passed a bill changing the name 
of the sales tax to "Value Added Tax".  The impeachment 
procedures bill was also referred back to the legislative 
affairs committee of Parliament.  It is expected to be 
brought up at the next session of Parliament in September. 
 
4. (SBU) Comment: Parliament will likely pass the bill 
putting in place the Presidential and Vice-presidential 
impeachment procedures when they next meet.  The procedural 
bill only needs a simple majority to pass, which the 
opposition parties should easily muster.  However, a motion 
to then actually impeach the President is a different issue, 
and seems unlikely to pass even if it were put forward. 
Constitutionally, a/n impeachment motion would require 
two-thirds majority in Parliament, which it is fairly clear 
the opposition cannot get (Reftel B).  Without enough support 
in Parliament, the specter of an impeachment bill might die a 
natural death. 
CLOUD