Malawi’s 2025 elections: A test of democratic resilience

IN 2024, several southern African countries held elections. In both South Africa and Botswana, the political landscape shifted dramatically, as the ANC and the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) saw their decades-long dominance come to an end.

- KATHARINE BEBINGTON

In Namibia, the South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo) also experienced a decline in popularity, retaining power with its smallest majority since independence in 1990. Meanwhile, in Mozambique, the contested election results that kept Frelimo in power led to widespread unrest across the country.

The election calendar for southern Africa in 2025 is relatively small, with only the Seychelles, Malawi and Tanzania holding elections. The first of these countries to hold elections will be Malawi, on September 16.

Despite gaining independence in 1966, Malawi, due to Hastings Banda’s almost three decades in power, has only had six presidents in its history. Interestingly, in 2025, half of those presidents will be competing as candidates to once again lead the country.

The first is incumbent president Lazarus Chakwera, who is running as the Malawi Congress Party’s (MCP) candidate. Chakwera came to power in 2020 following the contested elections of 2019, when the Constitutional Court of Malawi annulled the results, upholding accusations that the elections had not been free and fair.

Chakwera and the MCP formed the Tonse Alliance with nine other parties before the fresh elections, ultimately unseating incumbent president Peter Mutharika.

Peter Mutharika, who was initially declared president in 2019 before the court challenges took place, will again be running for president in 2025. Mutharika is the presidential candidate of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

The second former president to declare their candidacy in the 2025 elections is Joyce Banda, from the People’s Party (PP), a party she formed as a breakaway from the DPP.