From: barnhart@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Mr. Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS:MALAWI: OPPOSITION THREATENS BOYCOTT AHEAD OF U.N. VISIT
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 23:51:00 GMT
Organization: Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A.

Copyright Inter Press Service 1993, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: MALAWI: OPPOSITION THREATENS BOYCOTT AHEAD OF U.N. VISIT


blantyre, malawi, jan 15 (ips/obinna anyadike) -- the opposition
has threatened to boycott the march referendum on political
reform unless its date is extended and significant changes are
made to the organisation of the poll.

''unless some fundamental issues are addressed we will find
it very difficult to participate in the referendum'', united
democratic front (udf) chair, bakili maluzi, told ips.

president hastings banda, who has ruled this central african
country since independence in 1964, has succumbed to an
eight-month-long donor aid freeze designed to pressure his
regime into political and human rights reforms.

he announced on new year's eve a referendum on whether the
single-party system should be retained.

accepting in-part a report by a u.n. mission team presented
in december, he has however brought the proposed date forward by
three months to mar. 15. for the opposition -- the udf and the
alliance for democracy (aford) -- that is unacceptable.

the date falls within the raining season which will make much
of the countryside inaccesable. in february, banda begins his
traditional month long crop inspection tour, during which period
opposition campaigning is likely to be banned in the districts
he will cover.

malawi's voter register also needs updating. after 28-years
of monolithic rule it is hard to find somebody here who can
admit to ever voting. in parliamentary elections last year, only
an estimated 25 percent of the electorate turned out.

''there is no transparency over the register'', one western
diplomat explained. ''a lot of people boycotted the
parliamentary elections but the percentages on voting and
registration have never been communicated by the government''.

''we agree with the u.n. that jun. 15 is a better date. the
illiteracy rate is the highest in this part of africa and people
need time for education on what is a referendum'', udf publicity
chair, edward bwanali, said.

''president banda wants to cash in on one, the ignorance of
the people, and the unpreparedness of the whole electoral system
including the voters role, to bulldoze this election'', bwanali,
a former finance minister, added.

donors say that it is down to a u.n. technical team, expected
in the country next week, to verify whether the conditions are
there for a free and fair poll. (more/ips)


malawi: opposition (2)

''it is up to the u.n. to lay down the technical framework,
especially on international observers. there will be a lot of
haggling in the next few days and weeks'', the diplomat said.

but he noted that donors would continue with the suspension
on development aid -- frozen since last may -- if the referendum
went ahead as currently specified by the government.

with banda unilaterally picking the electoral commission
this week which will report directly to him, and the problems
the opposition has faced in campaigning, it does not augur well
for a suspect-free poll.

the role of the police is also causing concern. ''there is a
lot of intimidation going on, i think the senior police officers
have been told that you cannot afford to be neutral'',
bazuka mhango, lawyer for imprisoned aford chair chakufwa
chihana noted.

the first opposition rally ever since independence sunday was
almost a fiasco. the police refused the initial venue in the
southern commercial city of blantyre and the udf was then denied
permission to publicise the event at its eventual site, 5km
outside the city centre.

anxious that the police would close down the meeting, the
early crowds were dismal. it was only when it was clear that the
authorities would not intervene that people turned out in
droves. the 30,000-strong rally ended with lines of people, some
jogging, still making there way to the venue.

''there is no turning the clock back, we have been frightened
for 28 years, but this is a historic step forward'', one
jubilant onlooker in the crowd told ips. ''the world has changed
and that's a fact'', another added.

forbidden by the single-party constitution to be registered
as political organisations, the udf and aford sharing the same
platform could only emphasise to the audience the importance of
a 'yes' vote on multipartyism.

however, with the success of that meeting still
reverberating in a country where rumoured dissent less than a
year ago was grounds for detention, there is swagger in the step
of the opposition.

''we think the referendum is a waste of time and resources.
if it was held, what would it prove? it wouldn't take us
anywhere. we should go straight into general elections'',
bwanali said.

''you can delay change but you cannot stop it. change will
come'', maluzi, who also wears the hat of the deputy secretary
of the malawi chamber of commerce added. (end/ips/oa/fc/93)
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