Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera. (@LazarusChakwera/X)
Six days after casting their ballots in an election they hope will ease the country’s worst economic crisis in decades, Malawians are once again trapped in uncertainty, with fraud claims, arrests and competing declarations of victory again shaking public trust in democratic institutions.
Last Tuesday’s vote for local government councillors, members of parliament and the president set the incumbent President Lazarus Chakwera, 70, against his predecessor Peter Mutharika, 85, in their fourth showdown, against the backdrop of inflation above 27%, severe fuel shortages and widespread poverty.
Provisional results from the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) show Mutharika’s Democratic Progressive Party leading in several districts. Official figures from 13 councils put him at 501 897 votes, or 61.6%, compared with Chakwera’s 210 037 (25.8%).
Former reserve bank governor Dalitso Kabambe trails with 49 733.
A Reuters count based on nine of Malawi’s 36 councils suggests Mutharika has about 51% of valid votes against Chakwera’s 39%. If this trend holds nationwide, Mutharika could avoid a runoff, an extraordinary comeback for the former president removed from power in 2020.
But irregularities are overshadowing the process, echoing the 2019 election that was annulled by the Constitutional Court for “massive fraud”.
Police Inspector General Merlyne Yolamu confirmed the arrest of eight data-entry clerks in Lilongwe for allegedly manipulating results. Authorities are also investigating the attempted suicide of a returning officer accused of bribery.
International observers have raised concerns.
“We have lodged a formal complaint to MEC to conduct a physical audit, especially in areas where we discovered serious anomalies,” said Vitumbiko Mumba, Chakwera’s running mate.
EU mission chief Lucia Annunziata called for “complete transparency to prevent suspicions about the whole process”.
Civil society groups have echoed these demands. The Citizens and Defenders of Malawi Democracy urged the MEC to explain delays and secure election materials.
Meanwhile, citizens are struggling with one of the harshest economic downturns in memory. Food inflation has reached 31.6%. A 50kg bag of maize now costs 85 000 Malawi kwacha (R850), triple its 2023 price.
Foreign reserves have fallen to $118 million, enough for only 10 days of imports, fuelling chronic fuel shortages. Motorists queue for hours at petrol stations, paying 2 530 kwacha per litre.
“Life is harder than before. Every politician now is promising lower prices. But look around,” said Bertha Kamanga, a 34-year-old vendor at Blantyre’s Ndirande market.
“Business is slow because people don’t have money to buy.”
MEC chairperson Justice Annabel Mtalimanja has resisted pressure to release results quickly. She reminded journalists that the commission has until 24 September to announce the outcome.
“We need to be meticulous,” she said, warning she would not yield to political intimidation.
The commission says more than 99 percent of votes have been counted, with results from 34 of 36 districts already at the tally centre. Still, both Chakwera’s Malawi Congress Party and Mutharika’s Democratic Progressive Party have claimed victory early.
The parallels with 2019 are clear. That year, the court annulled Mutharika’s win after tally sheets were altered with correction fluid. A rerun in 2020 swept Chakwera to power on promises to end corruption and revive the economy.
This 2025 contest is only the second under Malawi’s “50% plus one” rule, introduced after the annulment. If no candidate clears the threshold, a runoff must be held within 60 days.
Analysts expected such a scenario, but Mutharika’s apparent lead suggests he may already have crossed the line.
Observers from the EU, the Southern African Development Community and the African Union praised the peaceful vote but demanded transparency in the counting phase.
“The result management process must be open and transparent to stop people from drawing the wrong conclusions,” Annunziata said.
Local watchdogs are also on alert. A coalition running an election situation room described itself as “a sanctuary for democracy, where truth is protected, conflict is defused, and the heartbeat of a nation is monitored with care and courage.”
As tensions rise, Monsignor Patrick Thawale, chair of the Public Affairs Committee, cautioned: “Elections are never won by gatherings during campaigns. The number of people at a rally are not votes. Let us be open to other possibilities.”