Muluzi looks set for comeback bid

LILONGWE – Malawi’s former president Bakili Muluzi, who is under investigation for corruption, looked likely on Tuesday to seek a political comeback as his party renewed calls for him to run in 2009 elections.

Politically powerful Muluzi, who has hinted he would declare his candidacy, was briefly arrested last year under a controversial anti-graft campaign mounted by his embattled successor Bingu wa Mutharika. Analysts say Muluzi’s return to power would undermine Malawi’s efforts to win debt relief and aid from Western donors.Malawi’s leading opposition party, the United Democratic Front (UDF), has given Muluzi a week to say whether he intends to run, a senior party official said on Tuesday.”The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party has sat down and decided that Muluzi should be given until Sunday next week to announce whether he will stand or not,” party deputy secretary general Hophomally Makande told Reuters.A former cabinet member in Muluzi’s administration and two opposition leaders during his rule have withdrawn their intentions to run and announced that they will back Muluzi if he decides to run.Muluzi, who still remains powerful, hinted last week that he was interested in competing in the polls.”If the convention asks me to, I will,” he said.Muluzi was hailed as a hero in Malawi for ousting veteran independence leader Hastings Kamuzu Banda in 1994 – a victory which appeared to mark the end of strongman rule in the country of 11 million people.But a decade later he mounted an unsuccessful bid for an unconstitutional third five-year term amid growing tensions with Western donors, who account for a large chunk of the country’s finances.A power struggle which ensued after Wa Mutharika launched a spirited anti-corruption drive that netted a number of Muluzi’s allies has seen Malawi lurch from crisis to crisis.UDF loyalists in parliament have made several attempts to impeach wa Mutharika and the police have accused other UDF figures of plotting to have the president assassinated.Nampa-ReutersAnalysts say Muluzi’s return to power would undermine Malawi’s efforts to win debt relief and aid from Western donors.Malawi’s leading opposition party, the United Democratic Front (UDF), has given Muluzi a week to say whether he intends to run, a senior party official said on Tuesday.”The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party has sat down and decided that Muluzi should be given until Sunday next week to announce whether he will stand or not,” party deputy secretary general Hophomally Makande told Reuters.A former cabinet member in Muluzi’s administration and two opposition leaders during his rule have withdrawn their intentions to run and announced that they will back Muluzi if he decides to run.Muluzi, who still remains powerful, hinted last week that he was interested in competing in the polls.”If the convention asks me to, I will,” he said.Muluzi was hailed as a hero in Malawi for ousting veteran independence leader Hastings Kamuzu Banda in 1994 – a victory which appeared to mark the end of strongman rule in the country of 11 million people.But a decade later he mounted an unsuccessful bid for an unconstitutional third five-year term amid growing tensions with Western donors, who account for a large chunk of the country’s finances.A power struggle which ensued after Wa Mutharika launched a spirited anti-corruption drive that netted a number of Muluzi’s allies has seen Malawi lurch from crisis to crisis.UDF loyalists in parliament have made several attempts to impeach wa Mutharika and the police have accused other UDF figures of plotting to have the president assassinated.Nampa-Reuters