Blantyre – Malawi will hold a presidential election this week as one of the poor African countries struggles to cope with the economic crisis, food and fuel shortages – memories of the vote six years ago were cancelled and ordered for widespread irregularities.
Current President Lazarus ChakweraFormer theology lecturer and missionary are challengers for the 2019 election Peter Mutharikajust to be invalidated by the Supreme Court of the country.
The following year, Chakwera won the election redo.
This time, Chakwera, 70, is seeking a second term in the Malawi Congress Party. Mutharikathe 85-year-old Democratic Progressive Party, hopes to return to leadership.
The two of them are seen as main contenders in Tuesday’s election, which has 17 presidential candidates, including another former president, Joyce Banda. The Malawians will also elect members of parliament and more than 500 local council members.
Five years ago, Chakwera’s Months of street protests in support of his support ended up winning. But five years later, the vote took place in amid economic turmoil and crumbling trust in public institutions in South Africa’s 21 million southern African countries.
Inflation and cost of living have risen sharply, and fuel and sugar shortages are severe.
Hurricane Cyclone Freddy in 2023 and El Niño-inspired droughts have destroyed crops and worsened food insecurity. A plane crash last year killed Vice President Saulos Chilima, who is seen as a waiting leader.
“Malawians are tired,” said political analyst Boniface Dulani. “They want results, not just speech. This election is a mirror of this frustration.”
According to Dulani, despite the flawed 2019 election, Mutharika’s challenge to return to the presidency does not reflect his popularity but rather a disillusionment to Chakwera.
The fraudulent 2019 vote prompted a change in the Malawi election law, which will be determined by the 50%+1 format – meaning the winner will need to receive more than 50% of the votes.
Analysts believe there is a high probability that no one will get a majority in the first round of votes, forcing Chakwera and Mutharika.
The most prominent issue for voters who are usually rated as the least developed country in the world is the cost of food and fertilizer.
Malawi is landlocked and heavily relies on agriculture, with more than 80% of the population living in rural areas and relying on small-scale agriculture. Its largest export is tobacco.
Mutharika Having run for “return to “trusted leadership”, some agree.
Eliza Justin, 34, an informal market businessman, said things would be better under the leadership of the former president.
“At that time, we could afford fertilizer. Everyone could grow corn.” “Now, the price is killing us. We need it Mutharika Return to save us. ”
Mutharika There were few public appearances in the game and there were questions about his age – if elected, his term would end at the end of his term.
He also chose the former head of the electoral agency, who was responsible for the canceled 2019 vote as his campaign partner, sparking more allegations of collusion between the Mousarika party and election officials in the last vote.
Analyst Dulani said Chakwera was more obvious during the campaign, but “he was financially burdened by free fall” and felt he was not meeting expectations.
Under Chakwera, inflation rose from 8% to 27% in 2020, putting the country further into poverty.
The death of Chilima was also reported in a military crash last June that the consequences occurred between Chuckwera and the vice president, who were popular among the young Malawi and regarded as great hope for future presidents.
Still, some Chakwera supporters say Mutharika – His brother served as president from 2004 to 2012 – is a vote on the past.
“We’re looking forward to it, not backwards,” said Aubrey Kachiwala, who runs the taxi business.
The Malawi Election Commission will oversee the election on Tuesday and conduct an additional review after the chaos in 2019.
