Malawians are voting to elect their next president amid deepening their economic crisis in one of Africa’s poorest and poorest climate-disabled countries.
Small Southeast African countries are suffering from double-digit inflation that has skyrocketed food prices for months. It came after last year’s heavy drought event. Previously, in 2023, Cyclone Freddie, who hit the area, struck Malawi the most violently, killing more than 1,200 people and a devastating livelihood.
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In Tuesday’s election, voters also selected 35 local government councillors and local councillors.
Malawi is most famous for its tourist hotspots, including Lake Malawi, the third largest freshwater lake in Africa, a natural and wildlife park.
The country’s population is 21.6 million. Lilongwe is the capital and Blantyre is the commercial neurological centre.
Here’s what you need to know about elections:
How does vote happen?
The election begins on Tuesday morning and ends by evening.
According to the Malawi Election Commission (MEC), around 7.2 million people are registered to vote for 35 local government authorities.
To appear as president, candidates must win at least 50% of the vote. If not, you should keep the spill. The president’s results will be made public by September 24th.
A total of 299 constituency councillors and 509 councillors will be elected. The results of the assembly will be made public by September 30th.
Who is the important candidate?
Seventeen candidates are running for the presidency. However, it is primarily considered a two-horse race between incumbent President Lazaro Chakwera and former leader Peter Mutarika.
Lazarus Chakwera: The 70-year-old president and leader of the Malawi Parliamentary Party (MCP) wants to secure a second final term.
The 2020 preacher’s victory was historic after the court ruled that there was irregularity in the 2019 election and ordered a re-execution. Chakwera’s victory in that second vote was marked for the first time in Africa’s history, where opposition candidates won a rebroadcast election.
However, Chakwera’s tenure has been marked by high levels of inflation and, more recently, fuel shortages. There have also been many allegations of corruption, particularly nepotism, against him. In 2021, the president made the headline when he appointed his daughter Violet Chakweram Wasinga as a Brussels diplomat.
With his campaign, Chakwera has been seeking more time to ease the country’s current economic stagnation. He and his government officials also condemned some of the difficulties over the drought last year, the cholera outbreak between 2022 and 2024, and Cyclone Freddie’s devastation.
Supporters point out that Chakwera has already overseen major road construction across Malawi and resumed train services more than 30 years later.
He previously ran in 2014, but failed.
Peter Mutarika: The 85-year-old leader of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is aiming for a comeback after his defeat by Chakwera in 2020.
Mutarika, a former law professor, campaigns on the economic benefits Malawi said he witnessed under him, claiming things were better during his tenure than his current leader. He led Malawi from 2014 to 2020.
He is believed to have lowered inflation and kickstarted major infrastructure projects, but Mutarika was also facing corruption scandals at the time. In 2018, the Malawian took him to the streets to protest alleged involvement in a bribery scandal, where he saw a businessman paying a $200,000 kickback to his party. Mutarika was later exempt from fraud.
Critics have speculated about Mutarika’s age, noting that he is not particularly active during the campaign. Mutarika is a brother to former President Bing wa Mutarika, who took office in 2012.
Other notable presidential candidates include:
Joyce Banda – Malawi’s only female president from 2012 to 2014, she came from the People’s Party. Banda was previously vice president under Bingu Wa Mutarika. Michael USI – The former Vice President comes from the Odya Zake Alibe Mlandu Party.
What is at risk in this election?
A struggling economy
Malawi exports tobacco, tea and other agricultural products, but the country is primarily dependent on aid. They are also under pressure from accumulated foreign debt.
For Malawian voters, rising prices for food and everyday items are the most pressing issue in the vote. Food costs have risen by about 30% over the past year, but salaries remained roughly the same. Meanwhile, the cost of fertilizer has increased for 80% of Malawians who survived subsistence farming.
Economists choke the stagnation crisis due to a lack of foreign currency, where critical imports, including fertilizer and fuel, are limited.
The country is currently facing a severe fuel shortage, with hundreds of people waiting in line every day at fuel stations. Chakwera blames corrupt officials and says he is deliberately obstructing the fuel market.
In May, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) ended its $175 million loan program after not producing early results. Only $35 million was paid. It is likely that there will be negotiations for a new IMF programme after the election, officials said.
Previously, in February, disgruntled citizens took them to the streets of Lilongwe and Blantyre in protest of rising costs of living. Some voters, especially young people, feel that whether they vote or not, doesn’t change much.
Mutarika has campaigned for economic records during her time in office, but Chakwera has pledged a cash transfer program of 500,000 Malawi Kwacha ($290) for her newborn baby.
corruption
The crisis of corruption has plagued both Mutarika and Chakwera governments.
Chakwera has spoken of tough fighting corruption since becoming head of state in 2020, but has faced criticism for selectively dealing with nepotism scandals and corruption cases.
Meanwhile, candidate Joyce Vanda has also promised to fight corruption if elected. As president, Banda fired the entire Cabinet in 2013. Following news that some government officials were arrested at home with a massive amount of cash.
Drought and extreme weather
Malawi is one of the most climate-hit countries, but it has not contributed much to its emissions. Extreme weather events often cause Malawi to be particularly violent as the majority of people rely on subsistence in food agriculture.
Climate activist Chikondi Chabvuta told Al Jazeera that past governments have not invested sufficiently in building systems, such as food systems that can absorb climate shocks. Women and girls in particular said that they are often most affected by weather disasters and double whammy of inflation.
“Science tells us that these events will get worse, so creating a buffer for those affected must be a priority,” Chabvuta said. “The lives of Malawians must be better through policies that show signs of seriousness,” she added.
Millions of people were affected for months in 2024 after severe local droughts destroyed the harvest, driven by El Niño weather patterns.
According to the World Food Program, as Malawi declared a state of emergency, hundreds of thousands of people across the country were forced to rely on food aid to survive.
Cyclone Freddie, one of the deadliest storms to hit Africa in the last 20 years, caused 1,216 deaths. It also wiped out crops, causing similar food shortages.
