Key points:
- Chakwera seeks second term amid crises
- Mutharika eyes comeback at 85
- Kabambe could sway a runoff
MALAWI’S presidential race is shaping into a dramatic rematch as President Lazarus Chakwera faces off against his predecessor Peter Mutharika on September 16, with former central bank chief Dalitso Kabambe poised to influence a likely runoff.
The contest is the third head-to-head between Chakwera and Mutharika since 2014. Both men have traded the nation’s top job before, but this election carries new stakes as Malawians confront economic hardship and recurring climate shocks. Analysts widely expect no candidate to clear the 50 percent threshold, setting up a second-round showdown in which Kabambe’s supporters could prove pivotal.
Chakwera seeks a second chance
A former evangelical preacher and leader of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), Chakwera first captured the presidency in 2020 with nearly 59 percent of the vote. His victory followed a historic court-ordered rerun of the annulled 2019 ballot—dubbed the ‘Tippex Election’ after allegations of altered tallies.
The 70-year-old, who studied philosophy and theology in Malawi, South Africa and the United States, touts an inclusive style and oratorical flair. Born to a subsistence farmer in a village without electricity, Chakwera says he was ‘called by God’ to lead.
Campaigning under the slogan ‘Stop the Progress’, he urges voters to back him to ‘finish what we started’, highlighting roads, schools and hospitals built during his first term. Yet his tenure has been overshadowed by devastating floods and a stubborn economic crisis that critics say has eroded living standards.
Mutharika aims for a comeback
Mutharika, 85, brings decades of legal and political experience to his bid for a return. A former Washington University law professor with degrees from the University of London and Yale, he helped draft Malawi’s democratic constitution in the early 1990s and held several cabinet roles after re-entering Malawian politics in 2004.
Elected president in 2014 with just over 36 percent of the vote, his term was marked by food shortages, corruption scandals and mounting debt. Known affectionately to supporters as ‘Adadi’ (father), he lost the disputed 2019 election rerun to Chakwera.
Now promising a ‘return to proven leadership’, Mutharika pledges to stabilise the economy and tackle mismanagement.
Kabambe the potential kingmaker
Dalitso Kabambe, 51, a former Reserve Bank governor, presents himself as a technocratic alternative. With a PhD in development economics from the University of London and over two decades in public finance, he proposes decentralised governance, state-run development corporations and expansion of agriculture and manufacturing.
Though polling a distant third, Kabambe’s calm, professional image appeals to some policymakers. However, allegations of graft and money laundering from his tenure at the central bank shadow his campaign.
High stakes for Malawi’s future
The September election will test Malawi’s democratic resilience and its ability to address pressing economic and environmental challenges. With a runoff likely, Kabambe’s next move may decide whether Chakwera secures another five years or Mutharika stages an extraordinary comeback.
