LILONGWE, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Five Malawian cabinet ministers called for the resignation of the country's vice president, Saulos Chilima, on Friday after he formed an opposition United Transformation Movement (UTM).
By forming an opposition political movement, Chilima had put himself in a political dilemma and had to choose between serving as vice president or resign and serve as a member of the opposition, the ministers argued while addressing local journalists in the capital city of Lilongwe.
He ought to realize that he cannot practice opposition politics within the government he is part of, they said.
The five cabinet ministers who are also top officials in the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) include Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Sameul Tembenu, Minister of Finance Goodall Gondwe, and Minister of Information and Communications Technology Nicholas Dausi.
Meanwhile, General Secretary for Chilima's UTM Patricia Kaliati, who has held various ministerial positions in the cabinet, has trashed the resignation calls, saying Chilima is legally mandated to serve as vice president until the end of his term. ( Similar calls were made in 2012 when former Malawian President Joyce Banda formed the People's Party while serving as vice president to then President Bingu wa Mutharika.
Banda did not resign until Mutharika died of cardiac arrest in office on April 5, 2012, making Banda his automatic successor as stipulated by the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi.
