‘Section 65 will not affect DPP MPs defecting to PP’
Members of parliament wishing to join President Joyce Banda’s governing Peoples Party (PP) in parliament are safe from the wrath of anti-defection law Section 65, a political analyst has disclosed
Section 65 of the country’s constitution states that “the Speaker shall declare vacant the seat of a member of the national assembly who at the time of his or her election was a member of a party represented in the national assembly, and has voluntarily ceased to be a member of that party and join another party in the house”
But political commentator Augustine Magolowondo explains that: “The People’s Party did not contest the 2009 polls and is not represented in the national assembly therefore the section does not apply.”
- Kandodo:Defects
“This is a very interesting political development because it is a continuation of a government elected in 2009 where we had a president and his vice,” said Dr. Magolowondo.
The assurances are a great relief to a group more than 30 DPP parliamentarians who have already announced their allegiance to the newly installed President.
The MPs include Sidik Mia, Ken Lipenga, Yunus Mussa, Ken Kandodo, Godfrey Kanyama, Abel Kayembe, Jones Chingola, Leckford Thotho, Lucious Kanyumba and Catherine Gotani Hara.
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