Malawi: historical events

by Polls Africa

Published October 2020

In May 2019 Malawians went to the polls for the country’s general elections. The incumbent President Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) who was running for a second term in office was re-elected with 39% of the vote, defeating Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party (35%) and Saulos Chilima of the United Transformation Movement (20%).

In Summary

Malawi has four major parties that are competitive at the national level. Therefore, national elections have historically been closely contested affair with only one presidential candidate in Malawi’s history having won an absolute majority.

However, in what turned out to be a historic moment for the landlocked country in Southeastern Africa, the presidential election was challenged in court by Chakwera and Chilima the Constitutional Court ordered a repeat election. On June 27 2020 Chakwera was declared winner with 59% of the vote against Mutharika’s 40%.

Candidate	Age	Party	Votes	%
Lazarus Chakwera	70	Malawi Congress Party (MCP)	2,604,043	59.30%
Peter Mutharika	84	Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)	1,751,877	39.90%
Peter Kuwani	66	Mbakuwaku Movement for Development (MMD)	32,456	0.70%
Invalid/blank votes			57,323
Total			4,445,699	100%
Voters turnout			6,859,570	64.80%

New electoral system

As a result of the Constitutional Court ruling, the President of Malawi will be elected using the two-round system, replacing the former first-past-the-post system used in 2019. The perceived lack of legitimacy stemming from the plurality system had led to calls for the adoption of a 50% +1 majority system. The Court determined that the term “majority” in the Malawian Constitution should be interpreted as a 50% +1 majority electoral system.

2019 annulled election

General elections were held in Malawi on 21 May 2019 to elect the President, National Assembly and local government councilors. Incumbent President Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party was re-elected, with his party remaining the largest in the National Assembly.

However, on 3 February 2020, the Constitutional Court annulled the presidential election results due to evidence of irregularities, and ordered fresh elections be held. With this unusual ruling, Malawi became the 2nd country in Africa, after Kenya in 2017, to see an election victory overturned in the courts. Seven candidates ran in a first-past-the post single round electoral system.

Candidate	Party	Votes	Percent
Peter Mutharika	Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)	1, 940, 709	38.5%
Lazarus Chakwera	Malawi Congress Party (MCP)	1, 781, 740	35.41%
Saulos Chilima	United Transformation Movement (UTM)	1,018, 369	20.24%
Atupele Muluzi	United Democratic Front (UDF)	235, 164	4.67%
Peter Dsd Kuwani	Mbakuwaku Movement for Development (MMD)	20, 3689	0.4%
John Chisi	Umodzi Party (UP)	19, 187	0.38%
Hadwick Kaliya	Independent	15, 726	0.31%

Total		5,031, 264	99.98
Registered Voters/Turnout		6,859,570	74.44

Chronology of Presidents

*	President	Bio
	6th President Lazarus Chakwera	President of Malawi from May 2004 - 2012 for 7 years. Chakwera is a theologian and politician who has been leader of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) since 2013 and was previously Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly following highly controversial elections held on 21 May 2019 which were overturned by the Constitutional Court. He was President of the Malawi Assemblies of God from 1989 to 2013. After the elections were annulled, Chakwera contested against and won with 59% of the vote to become Malawi’s 6th President.
	5th President Peter Mutharika	President of Malawi for 10 years from 1994-2004 under the United Democratic Front (UDF). Mutharika was elected as President of Malawi in the 2014 election as the candidate of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) with 36.4% of the vote ahead of Malawi Congress Party's (MCP) Lazarus Chakwera with 27.8% and incumbent President and People’s Party leader Joyce Banda, 20.2%. In the 2019 Mutharika was declared the winner by the Malawi Electoral Commission with 1,940,709 votes against 1,781,740 for main challenger Lazarus Chakwera of MCP. He was subsequently sworn in as president. In 2020, following a petition, the Constitutional Court of Malawi nullified the 2019 election and ordered a repeat in which Mutharika lost to Chakwera. Mutharika is a younger brother to Bingu wa Mutharika, the 3rd President of Malawi.
	4th President Joyce Banda	Joyce Banda was in office for 2 years from 2012-2014. Dr Joyce Hilda Banda took office as President following the death of President Bingu wa Mutharika. She was the Vice-Presedent then and the legitimate successor to the Presidency as per Malawi's consititution. Banda was Malawi's first female president and the second woman to become president in Africa. She served for 2 years before losing the 2014 presidential election to Peter Mutharika.
	3rd President Bingu wa Mutharika	President of Malawi from May 2004 - 2012 for 7 years. Bingu wa Mutharika won the 2004 election as a United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate with 35.9% of the vote. John Tembo of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) coming 2nd with 27% and Gwanda Chakuamba (Mgwirizano Coalition) 3rd with 25.7%. Mutharika was elected for a 2nd term in the 2009 with 66% of the vote as a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate. He died in office from a cardiac arrest on 5 April 2012, at the age of 78.
	2nd President Bakili Muluzi	President of Malawi for 10 years from 1994-2004 under the United Democratic Front (UDF). Elson Bakili Muluzi was the first democratically elected President of Malawi in the country's first multiparty election in 1994. He was re-elected in June 1999, with 52.4% of the vote and defeating challenger Gwanda Chakuamba who was the leader of the opposition movement. After serving two terms, he handed over power to his successor, Bingu wa Mutharika, after the May 2004 election.
	1st President Kamuzu Banda	Hastings Kamuzu Banda was the first president of Malawi who ruled for 27 years from 1966 - 1994. Prime Minister in 1964 and later President in 1966 under the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) when Malawi became a republic. Banda ruled for 27 years until when he was defeated by Bakili Muluzi in Malawi's first truly democratic presidential election in 1994. Dr Hastings died on 25 November 1997 in Johannesburg, South Africa aged 99 years.
		Independence from Britain in 1964

Source: MEC and wikipedia

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