"Lawmakers Who Switch Parties Can Be Ousted" Says Judge

BLANTYRE, Malawi: Malawi's highest court ruled Friday that lawmakers who switch parties after their election can be ousted from parliament, a decision affecting scores of President Bingu wa Mutharika's supporters.

The ruling, delivered by Chief Justice Leonard Unyolo, could affect about 70 of parliament's 193 members, including Cabinet ministers, all of whom left the United Democratic Front to join Mutharika's Democratic Progressive Party. Mutharika was elected as a member of the United Democratic Front in 2004, but quit the party last year to found the Democratic Progressive Party, accusing his former allies of blocking his clampdown on corruption, and survived a subsequent attempt to impeach him.

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