DPP warns Speaker Suleiman over conduct

Ruling Democratic Progressive Party warns Speaker Sammer Suleiman against blurring constitutional lines between Parliament and Executive. Party says actions risk weakening government and fuelling political tension.

​In press release, DPP Secretary General Peter Mukhito notes opposition applause for Suleiman’s public challenges to President Peter Mutharika administration.

Warning issued: opposition celebrates developments that weaken government, not strengthen it.

​Mukhito emphasizes Suleiman’s dual roles as Speaker and DPP National Governing Council member require restraint, institutional discipline, constitutional respect. Party asserts legislative oversight must not cross into executive authority.

​Key concerns raised by DPP:

• ​Public confrontation creates impression of instability.
• ​Internal conflict distracts from national priorities: power, water, passports, mining, judicial delays.
• ​Executive governs; Parliament scrutinizes; neither subordinate to other.
• ​DPP denies attempting to silence Parliament, insisting accountability differs from institutional overreach.
• Urges party leaders to refrain from supplying political ammunition to opposition. Reaffirms unity behind President Mutharika mandate.

Mukhito  emphasised that Parliament has an unquestionable responsibility to scrutinise government, demand accountability, debate national policy and exercise oversight over public institutions.

However, he said oversight should never be allowed to evolve into an attempt to exercise executive authority.

“The Legislature must legislate and provide oversight. The Executive must govern and implement policy. The Judiciary must interpret and apply the law. None of these institutions is subordinate to another, but neither should one attempt to perform the constitutional responsibilities of another,” he said.

Mukhito said the DPP would defend the independence of Parliament just as firmly as it would defend the constitutional mandate of the President and the Executive.

“Respecting Parliament does not mean weakening the Executive. Respecting the President does not mean undermining Parliament. Constitutional democracy works when every institution is strong within its own mandate,” he said.

The DPP further cautioned that public confrontation among senior leaders could create an impression of instability at a time when Malawians expect government institutions to concentrate on service delivery.

The party cited electricity challenges, water infrastructure, passport services, public-sector reforms, mining governance, prison conditions and delays within the justice system as matters requiring urgent national attention.

Mukhito said Parliament was fully entitled to interrogate these issues, but maintained that scrutiny should be conducted through established parliamentary procedures, relevant committees and constitutional mechanisms.

“These are serious national matters. They deserve serious oversight. But Malawi will not solve them through institutional rivalry, political grandstanding or competition for authority,” he said.

The Secretary General also reminded senior DPP officials that public office carries responsibilities not only to institutions but also to the political mandate upon which the governing party was elected.

He said senior members of the DPP should never act in ways that unnecessarily create the impression that the party is divided against itself or that its own leadership is being undermined from within.

“Our members in public office must remember that millions of Malawians entrusted the DPP with the responsibility to govern. That mandate must be respected and protected,” Mukhito said.

He rejected any suggestion that the party was seeking to silence Parliament or prevent scrutiny of government.

“The DPP is not afraid of accountability. We are not afraid of debate. We are not afraid of parliamentary scrutiny. A strong government should be accountable,” he said.

“But accountability must not be confused with institutional overreach, and oversight must not become a substitute for executive authority.”

Mukhito said opposition parties were entitled to pursue their own political interests but warned DPP leaders against inadvertently advancing those interests through unnecessary public conflict.

“The opposition will naturally exploit every disagreement within the governing party. That is politics. Our responsibility as DPP leaders is not to provide them with the ammunition,” he said.

He urged all senior leaders to exercise political maturity and put national interest above individual positioning.

“Malawians did not give us a mandate to fight over power. They gave us a mandate to govern, to provide security, to restore services, to create opportunities and to improve their lives.”

The Secretary General concluded by calling for constitutional discipline, unity of purpose and mutual respect among the country’s institutions.

“The Speaker must protect Parliament. The President must lead the Executive. The Judiciary must administer justice. Let every institution perform its constitutional duty with dignity and restraint.”

“Malawi does not need a contest of personalities or institutions. Malawi needs leadership, stability and delivery.”

“And the DPP will remain united in defending the mandate entrusted to President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika and his Government by the people of Malawi.”

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