Malawi Law Society says President’s Parliament postponement unconstitutional, urges Speaker to reverse it

The Malawi Law Society (MLS) has challenged President Peter Mutharika’s directive to postpone the Fourth Meeting of Parliament, saying the President has no constitutional power to issue it and urging Speaker of the National Assembly Sameer Suleman to reconsider.

In a press statement issued on October 30, 2026, MLS Chairperson Davis Mthakati Njobvu said Section 59(1) of the Constitution does not allow the President to direct the Speaker on whether to convene or postpone parliamentary meetings.

The Society said the provision gives the President, in consultation with the Speaker, power only to summon the National Assembly on extraordinary occasions and to prorogue Parliament. “To the extent that the President has exercised a power that he does not have under the Constitution or any other law, such a decision is ultra vires, illegal and unconstitutional,” the statement says.

The MLS also questioned the Speaker’s decision to comply. It cited Sections 7, 8 and 9 of the Constitution, which set out the separate status of the executive, legislature and judiciary. “No arm direct or dominate another,” the statement says, warning that separation in which one arm is subordinate to another is “separation in name only.”

The Society reminded both the President and the Speaker that their powers are held in trust for the people of Malawi and must be exercised strictly within the limits of the law.

It noted that the Speaker had already consulted the President, set a date for the meeting and had the date published in the Government Gazette before the postponement was announced.

The MLS warned that the delay would cost Parliament its chance to scrutinise the performance of ministries, departments and agencies, and to consider proposed budget adjustments.