Voters to choose the next president as cost of living cost

Malawians vote in the presidential and parliamentary elections, after five turbulent years that saw the economic crisis aggravate in the nation of southern Africa.

President Lazarus Chakwera is in the running for a second term, his main rival being Peter Mutharika, an octogenarian who was previously in office.

In cities, the campaign was overshadowed by fuel shortages, which led to long and frustrating queues in service stations. The cost of living has also been a major concern for voters.

Presidential runoff will take place if no candidate receives more than 50% of the votes expressed in Tuesday elections.

The 7.2 million registered voters will participate in three elections once the polling stations will open at 4:00 am GMT:

• Presidential – There are 17 candidates to choose
• Parliamentary – 229 The deputies of the constituency will be elected
• Local – 509 The adviser’s positions are to be won.

Among the 17 hopes there are two clear producers.

Chakwera and Mutharika will compete against each other in the polls for the fourth time – although the third time has ended up not counting.

Mutharika beat Chakwera for the first time in 2014, but when he was declared the winner of Chakwera in the next elections in 2019, the result was canceled. Chakwera won the re -evaluation of the following year.

Lazare, party of the Malawi Congress (MCP)

Chakwera, former professor and theology preacher, had no political experience when he became chief of the MCP in 2013.

When he presented himself to the presidency in 2014, he failed, but in 2020 he triumphed, beating the outgoing, Mutharika, in this unprecedented re -evaluation.

Chakwera’s power time has been tainted with economic disorders and allegations of corruption. The 70 -year -old man, however, reintroduced train services in Malawi for the first time in more than three decades. He also supervised a large construction of roads across the country.

Peter Mutharika – Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)

Mutharika, a former lawyer and 85 -year -old law professor, led Malawi from 2014 to 2020.

He is the brother of the late President Bingu Wa Mutharika, who died in office in 2012.

Like Chakwera, Mutharika is also overwhelmed by allegations of corruption and links with economic crises. However, his supporters would say that the current high inflation rate (approximately 27%) is proof that Mutharika has managed the economy better than his successor.

The age of Mutharika can count this election against him – speculation on his health is widespread, especially since he has rarely been seen in public during the campaign period.

The other contenders attract attention are the former president Joyce Banda (People’s Day), current vice-president Michael Uusi (Haughters have no crime) and former governor of the reserve bank A blessing blessing (UTM).

The economy

Malawi has long been one of the poorest countries in the world, but the past few years have been particularly punishing.

The country was devastated by Cyclone Freddy who killed hundreds of people in 2023, then drought swept southern Africa the following year. Food prices have skyrocketed due to a lack of cultures, pushing many Malawians in extreme poverty.

Economists have also placed current inflation problems in Malawi in part at the shortage of foreign currency – called “Forex” – in banks.

In addition, Malawi was forced to devalue its currency and was recently paralyzed by fuel shortages and national energy failures.

Corruption

When Chakwera came to power, he swore to “clean the rubble of corruption” which has long tormented the policy of Malawie. Its administration says that it has excelled in this area, but criticisms – including the influential Catholic Church – say that this is not the case.

Skepticism was launched last year when the director of public prosecution abandoned the accusations of corruption against high -level figures.

In addition, the anti-corruption office (ACB) has been without a director since the former Martha Chizuma boss left over a year ago.

For some, not to name a new head actively hinders the fight against corruption.

Previous administrations were also hampered by allegations of transplant. For example, ACB accused Mutharika of receiving a bribes from a contract to provide food to the police-he denied any reprehensible act.

Banda’s reputation was bumped by a scandal nicknamed “cashgate” which occurred under his watch. It was authorized by the ACB of any reprehensible act.

The death of the former vice-president

In June of last year, Vice-President Saulos Chilima died in a plane crash. Popular with young people, Chilima led the UTM party and could have been a key competitor in the next elections, especially since he had fallen with the president.

Although two surveys – one conducted by the Aviation Aviation Accidents of Germany and another by a commission appointed by the Malawi government – have not found any unfair game, some Malawians are wary of the authorities.

The opposition parties fueled this skepticism during their campaigns, referring to the Party of Chakwera as the “Party Chikangawa” (the Chikangawa forest being the site of the plane crash).

Malawi was governed by the MCP of its independence in 1964 until the first multipartite survey of the country in 1994.

Since the transition from a single party state, the united democratic front, the DPP, the People’s Party and the MCP have all experienced stays in power.

Chakwera’s victory with the MCP in 2020 was one of the most important moments in the country’s political history.

A general election had taken place the previous year and Mutharika was declared the winner.

However, the Constitutional Court canceled the elections, claiming that there had been a widespread falsification, in particular the use of the TIPP-Ex correction fluid on the results sheets.

The judges ordered a reassessment for 2020 and Chakwera won with 59% of the votes after teaching himself with Chilima.

Although Mutharika marked the new “unacceptable”, the Constitutional Court has acquired international renown for the safeguarding of democracy and refusing to be influenced by the presidential power.

After the controversy of the 2019 elections, Malawi implemented a new system, where a candidate must earn more than 50% of the total votes to win the presidency in the first round.

There is a strong possibility that this year’s candidates do not reach the threshold, which means that an election of runoff should take place.

The MCP and the DPP will probably try to bring smaller games on board to secure a majority in the second round.

The electoral commission has until the end of September 24 to announce the presidential result in the Tuesday survey and the end of September 30 for the parliamentary election.

The count should start in polling stations as soon as the vote ends at 2:00 p.m. GMT.

The actions of the Court after the 2019 vote gave certain Malawians the faith in the electoral process.

However, in recent months, a certain number or organizations of civil society and opposition parties have accused the electoral commission of promoting the MCP, alleging that its senior management has links with the master party. The Commission has firmly denied being biased.

A demonstration in June calling for the resignation of the senior officials of the commission was attacked by masked men and brandishing machetes, which led to concerns concerning freedom of expression when approaching elections.

Aggression was not an isolated incident – there have been many relationships of violence with political motivation before the general elections.