/ 9 June 1999

THREATS TO MALAWI INDEPENDENT

AN independent candidate in Malawi’s parliamentary elections due next week said on Tuesday she had been warned at gunpoint by a member of the ruling party to withdraw from the race. Patricia Chipungu said a candidate from President Bakili Muluzi’s United Democratic Front threatened her at the weekend, saying she was causing problems in the Blantyre city constituency. Police confirmed that they are investigating Chipungu’s complaint. A total of 119 independent candidates are standing for parliament in Malawi’s second multiparty elections on June 15, and analysts say they could split the UDF vote in some constituencies.