By AFPMore by this AuthorBLANTYRE,Malawi's Vice President Saulos Chilima and former president Joyce Banda have formed an alliance to take on the ruling party in May elections, a joint statement said Friday. The opposition alliance does not include the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), which came second to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the 2014 elections. Mr Chilima has fallen out with President Peter Mutharika, and has teamed up with Banda and two other smaller parties ahead of the May 21 vote. "CASHGATE"President Mutharika won the last election defeating Ms Banda, who later fled after being embroiled in the multimillion-dollar "Cashgate" corruption scandal. About half of Malawi's 18 million population live below the poverty line, according to the World Bank, and the country relies on foreign aid.

Source: Daily Nation February 02, 2019 05:15 UTC