Keypoints:
- Soaring food costs drive voter anger
- Poll glitches slow early voting
- Corruption scandals shadow both rivals
MALAWIANS turned out on September 16 for a fiercely contested election pitting President Lazarus Chakwera against his predecessor Peter Mutharika, with rampant inflation and rising food prices dominating voter concerns.
Economy drives voter frustration
Chakwera, 70, is seeking a second term but faces a tough challenge from 85-year-old Mutharika in what analysts call a two-horse race. Fifteen other candidates, including former president Joyce Banda, are also running, but none are expected to break the Chakwera–Mutharika duopoly. If no candidate wins more than half the vote, a run-off will be required.
‘I voted for the candidate I believe can end hunger. I am struggling to feed my children,’ Alindiine Bellison Kazembe, a 32-year-old mother of four and domestic worker in Blantyre, told Reuters. Inflation has remained above 20 percent for more than three years, making basic goods unaffordable for many.
Cyclone and drought deepen hardship
Since Chakwera’s 2020 victory, Malawi has suffered economic stagnation, compounded by a devastating cyclone and a regional drought that wiped out crops and worsened food shortages. ‘Prices keep rising. I hope the next president fixes the economy,’ said Mazaza Msiska, 50, from Ndirande township, who has been jobless since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Polling glitches slow start
Voting opened at 6 a.m. local time (0400 GMT), though some stations reported delays as biometric fingerprint machines malfunctioned. ‘We had to revert to manual identification when the machines failed, but the process is now stable,’ said Wezi Winnesi, an election monitor for the opposition United Democratic Front.
Alongside the presidential ballot, Malawians are electing members of parliament and local councillors.
Corruption clouds both campaigns
Corruption scandals have eroded trust in both major parties. Chakwera came to power after the Constitutional Court annulled Mutharika’s 2019 victory for irregularities, but critics accuse his administration of selective and slow anti-graft efforts.
‘The race is too close to call. Economic performance, corruption, food security, governance style and leaders’ agility are the key issues,’ said Chimwemwe Tsitsi, a political scientist at the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences. ‘The ruling party’s economic record is weak, but opposition disunity is an advantage for them.’
Official results are expected within a week.
