Malawians are voting to elect their next president amid a deepening economic crisis in one of Africa’s poorest and most climate-vulnerable countries.
The small Southeast African nation has been hit with double-digit inflation that has caused food prices to skyrocket for several months now. It came after intense drought events last year. Earlier, in 2023, Cyclone Freddy, which struck the region, hit Malawi the hardest, killing more than 1,200 people and devastating livelihoods.
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In Tuesday’s election, voters are also choosing parliamentarians and local councillors across 35 local governments.
Malawi is most known for its tourist hotspots, such as Lake Malawi, Africa’s third-largest freshwater lake, as well as nature and wildlife parks.
The country has a population of 21.6 million. Lilongwe is the capital city, and Blantyre is the commercial nerve centre.
Here’s what to know about the elections:
How does voting happen?
The elections began on Tuesday morning and will end by evening.
Some 7.2 million people are registered to vote across 35 local government authorities, according to the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC).
To emerge as president, a candidate must gain more than 50 percent of the vote. If not, then a run-off must be held. Presidential results will be published by September 24.
A total of 299 constituency parliament members and 509 councillors will be elected. Parliamentary results will be published by September 30.
Who are the key contenders?
Seventeen candidates are running for the presidential post. However, it is largely considered a two-horse race between incumbent President Lazarus Chakwera and former leader Peter Mutharika.
Lazarus Chakwera: The 70-year-old president and leader of the ruling Malawi Congress Party (MCP) is hoping to secure his second and final term.
The former preacher’s win in 2020 was historic, after a court ruled that there were irregularities in the 2019 election and ordered a rerun. Chakwera’s win in that second vote marked the first time in African history that an opposition candidate had won a rerun election.
However, Chakwera’s tenure has been marked by high levels of inflation and, more recently, fuel shortages. There have also been numerous allegations of corruption, particularly nepotism, against him. In 2021, the president made headlines when he appointed his daughter, Violet Chakwera Mwasinga, as a diplomat to Brussels.
In his campaigns, Chakwera has asked for more time to work on easing the country’s current economic stagnation. He and officials in his government have also blamed some of the hardships on last year’s drought, a cholera outbreak between 2022 and 2024, and the devastation by Cyclone Freddy.
Supporters point out that Chakwera has already overseen major road construction across Malawi and restarted train services after more than 30 years.
He previously ran in 2014, but was unsuccessful.
Peter Mutharika: The 85-year-old leader of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is looking to make a comeback after his earlier second-term bid was defeated by Chakwera in 2020.
A former law professor, Mutharika has campaigned on the economic gains he said Malawi witnessed under him, arguing that things were better during his tenure than under the present leadership. He led Malawi from 2014 to 2020.
While he is credited with lowering inflation and kickstarting major infrastructure projects, Mutharika also faced corruption scandals in his time. In 2018, Malawians took to the streets to protest against his alleged involvement in a bribery scandal that had seen a businessman pay a $200,000 kickback to his party. Mutharika was later cleared of wrongdoing.
Critics have speculated about Mutharika’s age, noting that he has not been particularly acti