Despite being one of the countries hit by the devastating cyclone Idai in March, Malawi is currently set to hold its general election on the 21st of May.
Malawians will troop to their various polling booths to vote for a new president, members of parliament and local government councillors who will serve for the next five years at the helm of affairs in the country. While this is the fifth election, it is also the tightest contested election in Malawi since its return to democracy.
Earlier this month, the incumbent president, Peter Mutharika asked voters to hand his party, the Democratic Progressive Party, another mandate in next month’s election. Mutharika is seeking a second (and final term) but is facing opposition from his current deputy, Saulos Chilima.
According to a report published on Africa News, “This is the most important campaign since 1994 when Malawi attained multi-party democracy,” Mutharika told over 5,000 supporters at the Kamuzu Institute of Youth in Lilongwe. “This year we choose between going forward or going backwards,” he continued.
African Arguments explains that “Malawi uses first-past-the-post system, meaning whichever candidate gets the most votes in the single round of voting wins. In the last elections in 2014, this allowed Peter Mutharika to become president with just 36%. In 2017, a special law commission recommended that the country switch to a system that requires the victor to win a 50%+1 majority, but parliament rejected the proposal. This means that the same system is in place for 2019’s crowded race and it is likely that the victor will win with less than even 30%.”
Presidential Candidates:
While there are a total of seven candidates in this year’s poll, three candidates have been marked as the ones to watch out for on the May 21 voting day; The incumbent President Mutharika, the leader of the main opposition (Malawi Congress Party) Lazarus Chakwera and Vice President Saulos Chilima. African Arguments posits that “President Mutharika of the ruling Democratic Progress Party (DPP) has advantages as the incumbent, though he has done enough during his first term to expect an increased mandate. Lazarus Chakwera, leader of the main opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP), will be looking to do one better than in 2014 and capitalise on frustrations with the current government. And thirdly, Vice-President Saulos Chilima, who defected from the ruling party to establish UTM in July 2018, could spring a surprise.”
The other candidates include:
- Atupele Muluzi, United Democratic Front (UDF), whose running mate is Frank Tumpale Mwenifumbo.
- John Chisi (Umodzi Party), Timothy Watch Kamulete.
- Cassim Chilumpha (Tikonze People’s Movement), Miss Zione.
- Reverend Hardwick Kaliya (Independent), Mabvuto Alfred Ng’ona.
- Peter Kuwani (Mbakuwaku Movement for Development (MMD), Archbald McLenard Kalawang’oma.
Earlier this week, the country received its last batch of election materials from the United Arab Emirates, where they were printed.
EU observers were yesterday at Kamuzu Airport in Lilongwe to observe the arrival of the first lot of ballot papers from Dubai. The plane carrying the second and last lot of ballot papers is expected to arrive this morning #Malawi #MalawiElections2019 @electionsmalawi @PocheMEP pic.twitter.com/ah9uqxodQT— EU EOM Malawi 2019 (@eueomMalawi) May 14, 2019
Concerning the Malawi election, Africa News reports: “Ballot papers for Malawi’s upcoming general elections have arrived in the country as at Monday evening, the Nation Online portal reports. The papers which were delivered at the Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe were the first batch that the Malawi Electoral Commission, MEC, has received. As at Tuesday, the remaining batch had also been delivered, reports said. Voters will elect lawmakers and local government councillors alongside the presidential poll.
Read more about the Malawi election, here.
