Nankhumwa slams President’s order to postpone budget sitting as ‘threat to Parliament’

The People’s Development Party (PDP) leader, Kondwani Nankhumwa, has condemned the reported postponement of Parliament’s Mid-Year Budget Review sitting, calling it a threat to parliamentary independence and constitutional supremacy.

The sitting was due to run from 9 November to 11 December 2026. It was reportedly postponed on the instruction of President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika.

In a press statement, Nankhumwa said the move undermines Parliament at a time when Malawians face serious economic hardship and need greater scrutiny of how public money is spent. He cited Section 59(1) of the Constitution, which says the Speaker, in consultation with the President, sets the times for meetings of the National Assembly, and says later sittings are set by the Assembly itself.

Nankhumwa argued that the section does not give the President unilateral power to order the Speaker to postpone or cancel a sitting that has already been gazetted. He acknowledged that the section recognises specific presidential powers over extraordinary meetings and prorogation, but said those powers must still be exercised within the Constitution and procedural rules.

“The Constitution is supreme. It remains sacrosanct and must be respected by every public office holder, including the President and the Speaker of the National Assembly,” he said.

He also questioned reports that the Speaker complied with the directive without explaining the constitutional and procedural basis. The Speaker’s primary duty, he said, is to the Constitution and the Assembly, not to the executive’s convenience. He added that the Parliamentary Business Committee does not appear to have been convened to discuss the postponement, which he said should have happened.

“I, therefore, call upon the Speaker to reconsider the decision immediately, disclose the legal basis upon which the postponement was effected and take all necessary steps to restore the scheduled parliamentary meeting,” he said.

Nankhumwa stressed that the mid-year review is a key chance for MPs to examine government spending. Postponing it without a clear legal justification, he warned, would weaken democratic oversight at a difficult time for the economy.