President of the People’s Development Party (PDP) and Member of Parliament for Mulanje Central, Kondwani Nankhumwa has strongly objected to the postponement of the gazetted Mid-Year Budget Review sitting of the National Assembly.
Nankhumwa called the decision a constitutional violation that undermines parliamentary independence at a time of economic hardship.
In a signed statement dated 30 October 2026, Nankhumwa said the meeting was due to open on 9 November and close on 11 December 2026. He said it was postponed after a directive from President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika.
“This decision raises grave constitutional concerns, undermines parliamentary independence and threatens the fundamental principles of democratic accountability,” the statement said which added that the decision came while Malawians face serious economic difficulties.
Nankhumwa says Section 59(1) of the Constitution does not let the President postpone or cancel a scheduled parliamentary sitting on his own authority.
He reads the provision that Meetings of the National Assembly start at times the Speaker appoints in consultation with the President, and later sittings are held at times and on days the Assembly itself appoints. He acknowledged that the section gives the President specific powers over extraordinary meetings and prorogation. In his view, those powers are subject to constitutional requirements, including consultation with the Speaker.
“A presidential directive cannot substitute for the lawful exercise of Parliament’s constitutional functions,” he said. He added that any attempt to subordinate Parliament to unilateral executive direction is “an affront to constitutional supremacy, parliamentary independence and the separation of powers.”
Nankhumwa also criticised the Speaker of the National Assembly, who he said had reportedly complied with the directive without explaining its constitutional and procedural basis.
He described the Speaker as “the custodian of the independence, dignity and constitutional authority of the National Assembly.”
He warned that the office must not become “an instrument through which the Executive dictates when Parliament may or may not exercise its constitutional responsibilities.”
The Speaker’s overriding duty, he said, is to the Constitution and the Assembly, “not to the political convenience of the Executive.”
He called on the Speaker to reconsider immediately, disclose the legal basis for the postponement and take all necessary steps to restore the original schedule.
Nankhumwa also raised a procedural complaint. He said the Parliamentary Business Committee was reportedly never convened to deliberate on the proposed postponement.
His position is that a meeting already scheduled and gazetted can only be altered with a lawful basis and appropriate institutional consultation. “Parliamentary proceedings cannot be suspended merely because the Executive considers their continuation inconvenient,” he said.
He stressed what is at stake in the delayed sitting. The Mid-Year Budget Review is the process through which elected representatives scrutinise public expenditure, fiscal performance, budget reallocations and the implementation of approved appropriations.
He warned that the postponement risks delaying scrutiny of government spending, statutory allocations, public borrowing, fiscal pressures and development programmes. “Parliament must remain operational precisely when the country faces economic difficulties,” he said.
The statement turned sharply to the President’s absence from the country, which Nankhumwa said has lasted more than three weeks. He linked this to what he described as a fuel crisis disrupting transportation, commercial activity, livelihoods and access to essential services.
“The President cannot and should not be perceived as having abandoned citizens to suffer alone,” he said. He argued that the President must be seen to be sharing the burden of ordinary Malawians and directing national efforts toward practical solutions. He also said that the President’s absence “does not diminish his constitutional responsibilities, nor does it justify any interference with Parliament’s independent constitutional functions.”
He called on Government to explain the President’s continued absence and the measures being taken to address the fuel shortage.
