Of 10.9 million eligible voters, only 7.2 million registered, a gap analysts blame on apathy and disillusionment with politics in a country where inflation is above 20% and 70% of the population lives in poverty. (@MalawiGovt/X)
The hum of servers and silent data streams from more than 15 000 polling stations signal a new era for Malawi’s democracy.
Yet, as the nation waits for results from its tripartite elections on Tuesday, which pitted incumbent President Lazarus Chakwera and his predecessor Peter Mutharika against each other, the systems designed to ensure transparency are crashing into the force of public mistrust.
The vote is a test of whether the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), discredited in 2020 by the Constitutional Court over the previous year’s annulled election, can deliver a result the country will accept.
Of 10.9 million eligible voters, only 7.2 million registered, a gap analysts blame on apathy and disillusionment with politics in a country where inflation is above 20% and 70% of the population lives in poverty.
On voting day, the turnout was recorded at 51% by mid-afternoon, down from 64% in the 2020 rerun that followed the annulment of the 2019 election. Later reports put the final turnout rate near 63%.
MEC chairperson justice Annabel Mtalimanja said on Wednesday the commission had retrieved polling results from 15 127 out of 15 148 polling stations, a 99.86% retrieval rate.
Although the election has been described in the media as a two-horse race between Chakwera and Mutharika, for Malawi’s youth, it feels like no choice at all. Corruption scandals have scarred both leaders and many feel politics is detached from the daily slog of survival.
After the failure of the 2019 vote, which had Mutharika winning over Chakwera but was rejected by the Constitutional Court as having been riddled with irregularities, civil society and international partners mounted an unprecedented monitoring effort this year.
At its centre is the Election Situation Room (RSR), a coalition of 20 groups led by the National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) and backed by the United Nations Development Programme.
The ESR deployed 1 100 observers equipped with a digital reporting tool, Masoathu (Our Eyes), allowing real-time reports to be verified and sent to MEC and security agencies for action.
“This is a pledge to safeguard our democracy, to protect integrity and ensure every voice is heard,” Nice executive director Gray Kalindekafe said. “Today we light the lamp of transparency.”
Observer missions arrived in force, including the African Union-Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa group, led by Hailemariam Dessalegn, and the European Union one, led by Lucia Annunziata, with teams sent across all regions.
Their early findings, expected within days, will weigh heavily on both local and international perceptions of legitimacy.
To shore up its credibility, the MEC rolled out a new results management system and used election management devices for faster verification. Its stated goal is to deliver an election that could serve as a regional model.
But suspicion remains. Civil groups have questioned the opaque procurement of election technology and investigative reports have also flagged state surveillance tools such as Cellebrite, which pulls deleted phone data, and the Central Equipment Identity Register, which tracks devices. With no strong data-protection laws, activists fear these could be turned on opposition figures, undermining free speech.
“The warning signs are everywhere,” said Human Rights Watch, citing apathy, violence, contested authority and biased media as symptoms of a democracy under strain.
The shadow of 2019 lingers, with opposition parties accusing the MEC of favouring the ruling Malawi Congress Party, citing close links to the government. In June, protests demanding the resignations of senior MEC officials were violently broken up by masked men with machetes.
Chairperson Mtalimanja has tried to walk a fine line, endorsing the Election Situation Room as a “complementary mechanism” while defending her commission against fierce criticism.
On Wednesday, she confirmed results were still coming in, urging patience. The commission has until 24 September to declare the final presidential outcome.
In the end, the machines alone won’t decide this election. The verdict lies in the court of public opinion, where trust is still low. The coming days will show whether unprecedented observation and technology can help heal a divided nation or if Malawi will again be dragged into the history it is desperate to escape.