A spokesperson from the Malawian Government has quashed the notion that it has plans to hold a referendum on the country’s law criminalizing homosexuality or on whether to legalize same-sex marriage just days after President Peter Mutharika appeared to indicate that one would be held.

‘On the issue of gay marriages, again I have said in our [Democratic Progressive Party] manifesto that we will leave that to the people,’ Mutharika told the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation during Tuesday’s Talk to the President broadcast.

These comments were reported by Malawian daily The Nyasa Times as indicating a referendum was planned.

However a State House spokesperson has since clarified the president’s comments, telling the state owned Malawi Broadcasting Corporation that Mutharika had merely been expressing his own opinion on the issue.

The State House spokesperson said the President of Malawi cannot make laws and cannot bypass the parliament and cabinet to hold a referendum without their approval.

The spokesperson said that what the president meant to say was that he wanted the people of Malawi to decide whether they wanted a referendum on legalizing homosexuality or same-sex marriage.

However it is unclear by what way the people of Malawi would make their wishes known to the government on whether to hold a referendum on LGBTI rights other than a referendum.

There appears to be no plans by the Malawian Government to hold a referendum on whether to hold a referendum on LGBTI rights as yet.