Backgrounder: Malawi's ruling United Democratic Front

Millions of Malawians willgo to the polls on May 20 for the third multiparty general elections to choose their president, while outgoing President Bakili Muluzi will step down according to the constitution.

Five candidates are contesting the presidential election and over 1,250 candidates are vying for seats in the 193-member parliament.

It is believed the United Democratic Front (UDF), Malawi's ruling party which is seeking to extend its mandate in the May 20 presidential and parliamentary elections, was founded by Brown Mpinganjira, now leader of the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Mpinganjira himself has never at any time confirmed or denied the assertion.

While the beginnings of the party are scanty, its outgoing President and Chairman Bakili Muluzi claims he is its founder, saying he formed it as a pressure group in 1989 as an underground pressure group to champion the fight for reintroduction of multiparty politics in a country which was under one-party authoritarian rule since its independence from the British colonial rule in 1964 under Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda and his Malawi Congress Party (MCP).

The UDF emerged from underground and started campaigning vehemently for change after the Catholic bishops issued an epic pastoral letter in March 1992, criticizing the MCP government of human rights abuse and bad governance, the first ever open challenge Dr. Banda's one-party rule ever faced since independence.

The pastoral letter opened the way for more debate on whether or not the country should remain a dictatorship or embrace multiparty democracy. As pressure piled up, Banda cracked and later ordered that a referendum take place in June 1993.

When the referendum finally did take place, Malawians overwhelmingly voted for change. That spelt the beginning of the end for Dr. Banda and his MCP.

When the first multiparty general elections were held a year later, in 1994, the UDF scored a landslide victory and wrested power from the MCP's 30-year stranglehold.

Under Muluzi, the party started well with a lot of promises such as free primary education, poverty alleviation, better socialservices, good roads, respect for human rights and the rule of law.

Ten years down the line, Malawians are disillusioned that they are poorer than they were 10 years ago, according to a UNDP report.

The party started to lose its grip on the reins when in 2001 its President Bakili Muluzi wanted to manipulate the constitution of the land allowing for open terms rather than the mandatory two five-year terms to give him a chance to continue ruling the country.

After facing strong resistance from the opposition and some rebel UDF MPs, the open-terms bill finally collapsed in parliamentin July 2002. Not admitting defeat, the government side drafted another bill to allow the president a third term. This, too, received massive resistance from the opposition and civil society.

Sensing another eminent defeat, the government withdrew the bill before it was debated in parliament.

Knowing he would not be given another mandate to rule, Muluzi then handpicked economist Bingu Mutharika in 2003 to his successor,a move which many view as undemocratic. This led to some heavyweights in the party resigning to join the opposition.

Among them are First Vice President Aleke Banda, senior cabinetminister Harry Thomson, former deputy finance minister Jan Jaap Sonke, former deputy agriculture minister Joe Manduwa and most recently Justin Malewezi, vice-president of UDF and state.

With all these defections, the UDF party surely no longer enjoys the popular support it used to in its heady days.

Although its candidate Bingu Matharika enjoys much resources than his opposition counterparts, observers said the May 20 elections would most likely to be a close race between Matharika and opposition Mgwirizano (Unity) Coalition candidate Gwanda Chakuamba, with the latter leading in several polls.

Source: Xinhua