Segment
horizontal du quadrillage = 55 km
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-05/24/content_1485773.htm
Soon after the delayed results were published Sunday by the Malawi
Electoral Commission, angry opposition supporters organizeda protest rally in
Riots rocked three townships of
Some department stores and fuel service stations were also attacked.
Large parts of
Police said they arrested an unspecified number of people.
According to results announced by the electoral commission, Bingu wa
Mutharika, who was the outgoing president's chosen successor, scooped 1,119,738
votes, making him the winner among the five presidential candidates.
Veteran politician John Tembo, candidate for the main opposition Malawi
Congress Party (MCP), came second with 846,457 votes.
Gwanda Chakuamba, presidential candidate of the seven-party opposition
coalition and tipped as the most hopeful by many opinions polls and analysts
before the poll, only came third with 802,386 votes. He had declared himself
winner of the election Saturday night.
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leader Brown Mpinganjira came fourth
with 272,172 votes. Vice-president Justin Malewezi, who marshaled an independent
campaign, brought up the rear with 78,892 votes.
But the 193-seat parliament will be dominated by Tembo's MCP, with 59
seats. The ruling UDF trailed with 49 seats. Chakuamba's coalition got 28 MPs.
Independents candidates took 38 seats.
Three million of the 5.7 million registered voters turned out to vote,
the electoral commission said. Enditem
http://www.afriquecentrale.info/fr/news/news.asp?newsID=340
Malawi : vive tension après la présidentielle
23/5/2004
La tension était vive dimanche
au Malawi où des émeutes ont éclaté à Blantyre après l'annonce de la
victoire à l'élection présidentielle du 20 mai de Bingu wa Mathurika,
candidat du parti au pouvoir, rejetée par l'un des principaux candidats
d'opposition, Gwanda Chakuamba.
Dans plusieurs quartiers
populaires de la ville, des partisans de l'opposition ont bloqué des routes et
dans le township de Chitawira, les bureaux du parti au pouvoir, le Front
démocratique uni (UDF), ont été incendiés. La police, présente en masse
dans les rues de Blantyre, a dispersé les manifestants à l'aide de gaz
lacrymogène.
Ces émeutes ont éclaté lorsque
la police a empêché quelque 3.000 opposants de se rassembler dans un parc de
la ville, peu après la publication des résultats des élections générales,
présidentielle et législatives.
Selon ces résultats officiels, Bingu wa Mathurika, candidat de l'UDF, a
remporté la présidentielle avec 1.119.798 voix devant John Tembo, candidat du
parti du congrès du Malawi (MCP) qui a obtenu 846.457 voix et Gwanda Chakuamba
de la coalition Mgwirizano (Unité), regroupant sept partis d'opposition, qui a
recueilli 802.386 voix.
Deux autres candidats
d'opposition obtiennent un total de 351.064 voix.
Quelque 5,7 millions d'électeurs étaient inscrits pour ces élections qui
s'étaient déroulées jeudi dans le calme.
La victoire du candidat de l'UDF, un économiste de 61 ans désigné par le
président sortant Bakili Muluzi qui, après 10 ans de pouvoir, ne se
représentait pas, s'est doublée d'une victoire de son parti aux législatives.
L'UDF remporte 49 des 193 sièges
à l'Assemblée nationale, 38 vont à des candidats indépendants, 16 à la
coalition de M. Chakuamba, le reste des sièges étant réparti entre six autres
partis politiques.
En annonçant les résultats, James Kalaile, président de
"Les vainqueurs doivent manifester pacifiquement et les perdants doivent
accepter la défaite", a-t-il dit.
Gwanda Chakuamaba, qui s'était proclamé vainqueur dès samedi soir sans
attendre les résultats officiels dont la publication a pris plus de temps que
prévu, n'a pas accepté sa défaite, rejetant l'élection de son adversaire.
"Nous n'acceptons pas les chiffres. Gwanda devrait avoir plus d'un million
de voix", a déclaré Ian Nankhuni, secrétaire général de Ngwirizano.
"Il n'y a pas eu de transparence du tout lors de cette élection",
a-t-il ajouté.
Samedi, face au retard pris dans
le décompte des bulletins de vote faisant craindre des fraudes de la part de
l'UDF, la tension était déjà montée d'un cran: des policiers anti-émeutes
avaient été déployés dans les capitales économique et administrative du
pays, Blantyre et Lillongwe, où des centaines d'opposants avaient manifesté
leur impatience et leur colère.
Les observateurs de l'Union européenne (UE) ont salué la tenue d'éléctions
"pacifiques et transparentes", mais ont relevé de "sérieux
points faibles" pendant la campagne électorale, en particulier la
partialité de la radio et de la télévision d'Etat.
Ils ont également noté des "distributions manifestes et répandues
d'argent aux électeurs" et "l'utilisation de fonds publics par le
parti au pouvoir".
Les observateurs du Commonwealth
ont fait le même constat.
Ces élections générales étaient les troisièmes en dix années de
démocratie au Malawi, un des pays les plus pauvres d'Afrique qui a été
dirigé d'une main de fer pendant 30 ans, de 1964 à 1994, par Kamuzu Banda, le
"père de l'indépendance".
Il avait été battu en 1994 par Bakili Muluzi, réélu en 1999, qui a en vain
tenté de modifier la constitution pour briguer un 3ème mandat en 2004.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/africa/05/23/malawi.election.reut/index.html
Offices
of the winer's party (UDF) in
Angry opposition youths
blocked roads near the country's main airport with burning tyres and other
makeshift barricades, and some shops were looted in one part of the commercial
capital
Black smoke billowed into
the night sky from the reported torching of a
Heavily armed police and
army units patrolled the streets as officials prepared for Monday's inauguration
of Mutharika as president, a ceremony due to be attended by South African
President Thabo Mbeki and several other African leaders.
Police fired the warning
shots as they removed barricades on main roads into two townships around
The main opposition
parties signalled they were considering court action to remove Mutharika, 70, an
economist who worked for the World Bank.
"They have stolen the
election... I think there'll be a court challenge," said Gwanda Chakuamba,
leader of the seven-party Mgwirizano opposition coalition.
Bindon Kutsaira, spokesman
for the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), said: "We, as opposition leaders, are
going to bury our differences and strategise on the way forward."
The European Union, the
Commonwealth and African observer groups have all expressed concerns over the
conduct of the election in the former British colony.
Mutharika's United
Democratic Front (UDF) fell far short of a majority in the 193-seat parliament
and no party was able to claim control, potentially forcing him into messy
cohabitation in the legislature.
The Malawi Electoral
Commission declared Mutharika the winner after a slow vote count that opposition
politicians said showed the ballot was suspect.
The commission said
Mutharika won with 1.12 million votes, ahead of the MCP's John Tembo with
846,457 and Chakuamba with 802,386.
Outgoing President Bakili
Muluzi, who led
Analysts have said Muluzi,
thwarted in a bid for an unconstitutional third term, may harbour ambitions to
be the power behind Mutharika.
The concerns raised by
foreign election monitors included heavy state media bias towards the UDF,
ruling party abuse of state resources for the campaign, and shoddy preparations
by electoral officials.
Mutharika has pledged to
diversify a tobacco-reliant economy by promoting growth of other commodities and
by pushing tourism in a sun-kissed country blessed with wildlife, lush scenery
and sandy beaches on one of
In the parliamentary vote,
the MCP won 59 seats, the UDF 49 and Chakuamba's Republican Party, which did not
join the Mgwirizano opposition coalition for the assembly race, took 16.
Officials said about three
million of
U.N. statistics show GDP
per capita in 2001 was $570 compared to $800 a decade earlier. Life expectancy
has fallen over the same period as AIDS has ravaged the country.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/040523/ids_photos_wl/r270990817.jpg
Sun
May 23, 4:39 PM ET
Looters flee with their ware as riots sweep
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=7F604E7D-C569-45F1-85706E9E68514D72&title=Clashes%20Erupt%20As%20Malawi%20Swears%20In%20New%20President&catOID=45C9C789-88AD-11D4-A57200A0CC5EE46C&categoryname=Africa#
Clashes
Erupt as
Challiss McDonough
Johannesburg
|
|
|
AP |
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Bingu
wa Mutharika |
Several African heads of
state were present for the swearing-in of Bingu wa Mutharika, who has become
|
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|
AP |
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Unidentified men throw objects at the burning United
Democratic Front offices outside Blantyre, Malawi |
Unrest broke out Sunday in
townships around
The man who placed third
in the official standings, Gwanda Chakuamba of the Mgwirizano Coalition, accuses
the electoral commission of fraud and says he should have been declared the
winner. His coalition says it intends to challenge the results in court.
The head of the
"I think it is
something to do with the electoral system," he said. "Because we would
be talking about a different scenario if it was proportional representation. But
now the voting pattern is along the regional lines, and it is only people who
get the majority, even if they beat others by one vote, they still have to be
declared the winner."
International election
observers have given the poll a mixed evaluation. They say that while voting day
was peaceful, there were serious irregularities in voter registration and a
heavy bias in the state media toward the ruling party, the United Democratic
Front. The European Union also said the ruling party used state resources in its
campaign, and that former President Muluzi handed out money at election rallies.
The head of the EU
observer mission, Marieke Sanders, wants to set the record straight after
remarks that the former president made during the swearing-in.
"The former president,
I have to say, Muluzi, he said that we the international observers had declared
the elections as free and fair," he said. "That is definitely not so,
because it is too early to give any comments on that, so we will not, we have
not done so yet. The final report, that will give the assessment if we think the
elections are up to the international standards. Because that is why we are here,
to see whether these elections in
Analysts say the
opposition probably has little chance of overturning the election in court.
But economists worry that
continued unrest and a disputed poll could hurt
In his inauguration
speech, Mr. Mutharika promised sweeping reforms in the economy, the government
and the agricultural sector, to make
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=516708§ion=news
|
|
By Ed
Stoddard and Denis Mzembe
BLANTYRE
(Reuters) - At least one person has been shot dead by police as protesters
challenge the election victory of new Malawi president Bingu wa Mutharika, who
has been sworn in after a chaotic poll criticised by foreign observers.
Innocent
Idana, director of
Several
others had been treated overnight for gunshot injuries, he said, but could not
specify how many.
Opposition
parties said police had shot dead 11 people in the ghettos around the commercial
capital
Mutharika
can ill afford social unrest as he struggles to attract aid to deal with food
shortages and an AIDS pandemic which has slashed life expectancy in the
impoverished country to 38 years.
"The
international community may not immediately cut funding but if they don't sort
out this election mess they could threaten to do so," said Else Yaffe, an
analyst with Pretoria-based Executive Research Associates.
"And
if foreign funding is cut they might as well turn off the lights, lock the doors
and leave. The economy cannot survive without foreign aid," she said.
The
European Union, the Commonwealth and African observer groups all expressed
concerns over the poll last Thursday, which took almost three days to tally.
The
count's slow pace provoked allegations of vote rigging by opposition parties who
had cried foul before polling began.
Opposition
leader Gwanda Chakuamba has insisted he won the vote.
TOWNSHIP
BATTLES
Youths
in a poor suburb a few kilometres (miles) from where the swearing-in ceremony
was being held ran for cover as police fired at them, a Reuters correspondent at
the scene said.
At
another ghetto, the burnt-out wrecks of two lorries lay smouldering outside a
warehouse where bags of maize, the staple of the Malawian diet, had been looted.
Hours
after the ceremony, angry youths were still blocking roads with burning tyres
and debris while they chanted pro-Chakuamba slogans in the poor
Zimbabwean
President Robert Mugabe and South African President Thabo Mbeki both attended
Mutharika's swearing-in ceremony, where the sound of gunshots could be heard
echoing in the distance.
Mutharika,
a 70-year-old economist who once worked as a loan officer at the World Bank,
pledged to cut spending and streamline government.
"I
am optimistic that Malawi will get out of poverty...I shall reduce the cabinet
to a lean and effective one in line with available resources, review the number
of state residencies and reduce expenditure," he told the audience.
Former
President Bakili Muluzi, who led the landlocked country to democracy after late
president Hastings Kamuzu Banda's iron-fisted dictatorship ended in 1994,
hand-picked Mutharika to succeed him.
Chakuamba
has said his coalition will likely launch a court challenge but its prospects
for success are remote. Official figures show Chakuamba finished in third place.
Mutharika
had previously pledged to diversify the tobacco-reliant economy by promoting
other commodities and by pushing tourism in a sun-kissed nation blessed with
wildlife, lush scenery and sandy beaches on one of
But
to govern effectively his UDF will need to forge alliances with other parties as
it fell far short of a majority in the 193-seat parliament, picking up only 49
seats.
Most
of the southern African nation's 11 million people live in dire poverty. U.N.
statistics show per capita GDP was $570 in 2001, compared with $800 a decade
earlier.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/3743663.stm
Published: 2004/05/24
On
the day
The
ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) party candidate, Bingu wa Mutharika, was
declared the winner, defeating four other candidates - including opposition
leader Gwanda Chakuamba - despite opposition claims that the elections were
rigged and a refusal to accept the results.
"The
nation has made its choice, although there are people who may not be happy with
the outcome of the election," an editorial in The Daily Times is
quick to declare.
Concerns
over violence
"Let's
have an end to the contest and get on with the business of government," the
paper urges, calling on the president-elect "to rein in" some of his
"overzealous supporters".
"It
will do nothing to uphold your own dignity if you let ruffians get away with
impunity."
Violence
is also the main concern of the writers in the Malawi Nation .
"The
violence and looting of shops that followed the announcement of election results
.. was uncalled for," says an editorial.
Violence should be avoided at all costs since it just brings more misery
Malawi Nation
The
paper calls on the leaders of all political parties to urge their followers to
avoid violence.
"Violence
should be avoided at all costs since it just brings more misery."
Writing
in the same paper, commentator Idriss Ali Nassah calls on the 70-year old former
World Bank economist - said to have been hand-picked by the outgoing president -
to prove quickly that he is up to the job.
"If
there was ever a leader so controversially chosen, a president assuming power
when political opinion in the country is so sharply divided, then it is you in
2004."
"Now
that you have won power, it is obligatory that you start to assert your
authority immediately to erase any doubts that you have no political spine of
your own".
Media
under fire
Meanwhile,
international observers said the elections were marred by serious shortcomings,
including errors with the electoral roll and the state media bias towards the
ruling UDF party.
Malawian
independent Capital Radio reported on Sunday that the police shut down a
private radio station, MIJ 90.3, and arrested four journalists - including its
station manager Evans Masamba - for interviewing an opposition spokesman who
threatened to call on the army to "take over" if Mutharika was
declared president.
The
station's director James N'gombe told AFP news agency that four of its
reporters were arrested for broadcasting what police said was an
"inflammatory interview" with opposition spokesperson Kholiwe
Mkandawire.
He
said Mkandawire had also threatened to send supporters to surround the airport
and the stadium in
The military would always remain neutral and not interfere in the
electoral process
Army spokesman on Capital Radio
Capital
Radio reported that the National Media Institute of
The
radio further reported that the
It
quoted an army spokesman, Clement Namangale, as saying the military "would
always remain neutral and not interfere in the electoral process".
According
to the radio, "Namangale urged individuals and all stakeholders in the
electoral process to refrain from making inflammatory statements that may incite
violence".
© BBC MMIV
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=84&art_id=vn20040525102522812C230376&set_id=1
Three
die in Malawi riots
May
25 2004 at 10:25AM
Malawian
police shot dead three people in riots in the capital,
As the United Democratic Front's Bingu wa Mutharika was sworn in, the
opposition boycotted the ceremony to protest against the results of the
elections.
The charges that at least three people had died following the riots added to
Mutharika's worries - international observers have already said the vote was
marred by "serious shortcomings".
In Blantyre, a hospital spokesperson said two people had been shot dead while
an eyewitness said he saw how late on Sunday police officers shot dead an
opposition supporter in Ndilande township, which the ruling UDF lost to the
opposition in Thursday's elections.
Opposition leader Gwanda Chakuamba's Unity Coalition has rejected the outcome
of the polls. - Sapa-AFP
This
article was originally published on page 4 of The Cape Argus on
http://www.angolapress-angop.ao/noticia-f.asp?ID=253668
Malawi: Emeutes après la proclamation des résultats
Blantyre,
Malawi, 24/05 - De violents heurts se sont produits entre policiers malawites et
électeurs qui sont descendus dans les rues de Blantyre dimanche, pour protester
contre l`élection à la présidence du pays de M. Bingu wa Mutharika du Front
Démocratique Uni (UDF).
Les policiers ont utilisé des gaz lacrymogènes et des balles en caoutchouc
pour disperser les nombreux militants de l`opposition en colère. Ces derniers
avaient bloqué les voies d`accès à la capitale commerciale dès après
l`annonce officielle des résultats par
D`après
Le vétéran John Tembo, qui était le candidat du principal parti
d`opposition, le Parti du Congrès du Malawi (MCP), est arrivé en seconde
position avec 846.457 voix, alors que le leader de la coalition de sept partis,
M. Gwanda Chakuamba, qui s`était autoproclamé vainqueur samedi, occupe la
troisième place avec 802.386 votes.
Chakuamba, en dépit de l`annonce officielle, soutient qu`il est le véritable
vainqueur et le nouveau dirigeant du pays.
"J`ai remporté les élections. Je ne permettrai pas que la volonté
populaire soit dévoyée, que ces gens-la détournent la volonté
populaire," a-t-il protesté.
Le chef de l`Alliance démocratique nationale (NDA), M Brown Mpinganjira est
arrivé quatrième avec 272.172 votes, alors que le Vice président Justin
Malewezi, qui a fait sa campagne comme candidat indépendant, n` a recueilli
que 78.892 voix.
Au parlement, le MCP de Tembo est en tête avec 59 députés, suivi de l`UDF,
le parti au pouvoir avec 49 élus. La coalition dirigée par Chakuamba en a
pour sa part obtenu 28.
Mais à la surprise générale, 38 candidats issus des rangs de l`UDF, ont
été élus comme députés indépendants au Parlement.
Aussitot après la publication tardive des résultats, les militants de
l`opposition ont organisé un rassemblement dans la capitale au cours duquel M.
Chakuamba devrait faire un discours. Mais la police devait disperser la foule
après que celle-ci a commencé à lapider les voitures officielles.
Des camions appartenant à un cadre de l`UDF ont été aussi vandalisés au
cours des émeutes et trois bureaux de l`UDF pillés et saccagés, tandis que
des magasins et des stations service d`essence étaient la proie des flammes.
La police a affirmé avoir appréhendé un nombre indéterminé de manifestants
et de casseurs au cours des incidents.
En fin d`après-midi encore, plusieurs quartiers de Blantyre étaient toujours
inaccessibles à cause des immenses blocs qui jonchaient les routes.
Des sapeurs pompiers essayaient difficilement de passer entre les rochers pour
éteindre le feu alors que des policiers en armes patrouillaient dans les rues
pour ramener la paix.
Ces élections sont les troisièmes au Malawi depuis que ce pays a renoué avec
le multipartisme en 1994.
http://www.afrik.com/article7320.html
Emeutes
post électorales au Malawi
Fronde contre le nouveau président de la république
lundi 24 mai 2004
Les résultats de l’élection présidentielle du 20 mai au Malawi ont été
accueillis ce week-end par de violentes émeutes. Bingu wa Mutharika, le
candidat du parti au pouvoir, l’UDF (le Front démocratique uni), a été
déclaré vainqueur du scrutin. Les principaux partis d’opposition critiquent
les irrégularités du vote. Ils ont décidé de s’unir pour remettre en
question le verdict officiel des urnes devant la justice.
Fatoumata Traoré
Annoncée le 23 mai, la victoire de
Bingu wa Mutharika, le candidat de l’UDF (parti au pouvoir), aux élections
présidentielles, a provoqué de violentes émeutes ce week-end dans le pays.
Pour manifester leur colère, de jeunes membres de l’opposition au président
nouvellement élu ont bloqué des routes en brûlant des pneus et en érigeant
des barricades. Et sont même allé jusqu’à incendier les bureaux du nouveau
président. Des magasins ont été pillés dans une partie de Blantyre, la
capitale commerciale. Les protestations ont été reprimées par la police, qui
a utilisé des gaz lacrymogènes. Grâce à l’action des forces de l’ordre,
le calme a été rétabli dans le pays.
Les irrégularités confirmées
par les observateurs
Les principaux partis d’opposition
affirment qu’ils envisagent une action judiciaire pour écarter le président
élu, Bingu wa Mutharika. « Ils ont volé l’élection.....Je pense que
nous allons la contester devant la justice », a déclaré Gwanda
Chakuamba, leader du Mgwirizano (Unité), la coalition de l’opposition qui
regroupe sept partis. Selon les opposants, le manque de transparence et la
lenteur du décompte des voix de l’élection la rendent suspecte.
Trois millions de personnes sur les
5,7 millions inscrites sur les listes électorales ont voté. Les électeurs
devaient également désigner leurs députés. Le MCP (parti du Congrès du
Malawi) a gagné 59 sièges, l’UDF (le Front démocratique uni) 49 et le parti
Républicain de Chakuamba 16. Les positions de l’opposition sont confortées
par l’Union européenne, le Commonwealth et des groupes d’observateurs
africains, qui ont exprimé leurs inquiétudes concernant le déroulement des
élections. Ils ont tous souligné le traitement de faveur accordé dans les
médias publics à l’UDF, l’utilisation abusive des ressources de l’Etat
par ce parti et la mauvaise préparation des élections.
Gagner la confiance
Le Malawi est l’un des pays les
plus pauvres au monde. Le virus du Sida y fait chaque année 80 000 morts. 14%
de la population est séropositive. Le pays a été dirigé depuis 1994 par
Bakili Muluzi, qui a instauré la démocratie après une longue période de
dictature. Le président sortant ne pouvait briguer un troisième mandat
présidentiel aux termes de la constitution. Son successeur, Mutharika, a
annoncé son intention de diversifier l’économie qui repose en grande partie
sur le tabac en promouvant la croissance d’autres produits et en investissant
dans le tourisme. Mais son premier défi de taille sera de faire face à une
opposition frondeuse.
