Elections in Malawi 2019

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The 2019 elections in Malawi took place on May 21. In addition to the President, the members of the National Assembly and the members of the regional representatives were elected. The last elections took place in 2014. The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) was responsible for the elections .

On February 3, 2020, the result of the presidential election was declared invalid. After Kenya in 2017, it was the second time in African history that a nationwide election had been canceled by a court order. The re- election took place on June 23, 2020.

Registration and polling stations

6,859,570 Malawians registered for the elections. There were 5002 polling stations.

Presidential election

Electoral process

Each candidate runs alongside a vice-presidential candidate. The candidate with the highest number of votes becomes president, which means there is no runoff election .

Candidates

Incumbent Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) ran again after five years in office, as did other politicians who had already participated in the 2014 elections. They include Lazarus Chakwera from the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and Atupele Muluzi ( United Democratic Front , UDF). Saulos Chilima was Vice President under Mutharika, but resigned from the DPP in 2018 and is now running for the United Transformation Movement (UTM). Peter Kuwani also applied for the Mbakuwaku Movement for Development , John Eugenes Chisi ( Umodzi Party ) and Hardwick Kaliya as independents .

  • Peter Mutharika

  • Saulos Chilima

  • Joyce Banda

Former President Joyce Banda ( People's Party , PP) withdrew her candidacy two months before the election date.

Mutharika won the 2014 election with 36.4%, ahead of Chakwera, Banda and Muluzi.

Result

The count was stopped at the request of Chakwera and Chilima and by order of the High Court, but then resumed. The result was announced on May 27th. Mutharika won with around 38.6% of the votes ahead of Chakwera with around 35.4% and Chilima with 20.2%. Vice President Everton Chimulirenji was elected with Mutharika. The swearing-in took place on May 28, 2019 in Blantyre .

  • Peter Mutharika 1,940,709
  • Lazarus Chakwera 1,781,740
  • Saulos Chilima 1,018,369
  • Atupele Muluzi 235.164
  • Peter DSD Kuwani 20,369
  • John Eugenes Chisi 19.187
  • Hardwick Kaliya 15,726

A total of 5,105,983 votes were cast, of which 5,031,264 were valid.

Election to the National Assembly

Electoral procedure and initial situation

The 193 members of the National Assembly are elected by majority vote in as many constituencies .

In 2014 the DPP had 51 seats, the MCP 48, the PP 26, the UDF 14, the Alliance for Democracy (Aford) and Chipani cha Pfuko 1 each, and the independents 52 seats.

Result

The result of the general election was announced on May 25th. The DPP achieved 62 seats, the MCP 55. The UDF fell back to ten seats, the PP to five. The UTM got four seats, Aford one. 55 seats went to independents. One seat remained vacant for the time being because of a deceased candidate.

Elections to the regional representatives

Electoral procedure and initial situation

In the elections for the regional representatives in 2014, the following mandates were added together:

DPP 165, MCP 131, PP 65, UDF 57, Chipano cha Pfuko 2, Alliance for Democracy and National Salvation Front 1 each and Independent 35, with five seats the owner was unclear.

consequences

From June 4 to 6, numerous opposition supporters protested against the result of the presidential election, which they believe to be falsified. On June 6th, the police used tear gas to break up the rallies . The defeated candidates Chakwera and Chilima sued the result. There were further violent protests in August and continued into the months that followed.

On February 3, 2020, the Constitutional Court declared the result of the presidential election to be invalid and ordered a new vote within 150 days. Serious irregularities, such as the "significant" use of correction fluid, were given as the reason. Unlike the invalid election, the new election should be decided in a runoff election if no candidate has received an absolute majority . Mutharika and the electoral commission appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of Appeal . The Constitutional Court upheld its decision after a hearing on February 12th. A high-ranking member of the electoral commission confirmed some serious allegations against the count. The legislative period of parliament and regional representatives has been extended so that the next elections can take place together in 2025.

The re-election was initially set for May 19, 2020. Until then, the possible runoff election should be anchored in the electoral law. However, Mutharika refuses to sign the law passed by parliament because it is unconstitutional.

In March 2020, President Mutharika sacked the armed forces commander, General Vincent Nundwe, for allowing demonstrations against the result of the presidential election.

In the run-up to the planned election, seven opposition parties, led by the MCP, UTM and PP, came together on March 19 to form the Tonse Alliance . Chakwera is the presidential candidate and Chilima is to become vice-president. The election commission now set July 2, 2020 as the election date. At the beginning of May, Mutharika appointed his former opponent Atupele Muluzi as his new vice-presidential candidate. Shortly thereafter, the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that the cancellation of the presidential election was legitimate. He also ordered that in the repeat election only candidates who had already stood for election in 2019 may run.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Martin Ronceray: First Kenya, now Malawi: The challenge-annul-rerun pattern in African elections. ecdpm.org of February 17, 2020 (English), accessed June 22, 2020
  2. ↑ a b Elections. mec.org.mw, accessed on May 28, 2019
  3. ^ Polls open in Malawi's tripartite elections. africanews.com, May 28, 2019, accessed May 28, 2019
  4. ↑ Green Muheya: DPP win most MPs 62, independents 55, MCP 55: UDF has 10, UTM 4. nyasatimes.com from May 25, 2019 (English), accessed on May 28, 2019
  5. ↑ Reuters : Police teargas Malawi opposition protest demanding president resigns. africanews.com, June 7, 2019, accessed June 7, 2019
  6. ^ Malawi court to hear election appeal. africanews.com, June 26, 2019, accessed July 3, 2019
  7. ↑ Malawi: Violence in new demonstrations. deutschlandfunk.de from August 6, 2019, accessed on August 6, 2019
  8. ↑ Foreign embassies in Malawi decry election violence. africanews.com, October 12, 2019, accessed October 17, 2019
  9. ↑ Malawi top court annuls presidential election results. aljazeera.com dated February 3, 2020, accessed on February 3, 2020
  10. ↑ Malawi's president appeals court ruling annuling his re-election. africanews.com, February 8, 2020, accessed February 8, 2020
  11. ^ Malawi top court throws out Mutharika's appeal on poll annulment. africanews.com of February 12, 2020, accessed on February 12, 2020
  12. ↑ Malawi: poll commissioner admits grave anomalies in annulled vote. africanews.com, February 13, 2020, accessed February 13, 2020
  13. ↑ Malawi to hold fresh presidential poll in May. Theeastafrican.co.ke of February 25, 2020, accessed on February 26, 2020
  14. ↑ a b In virus-free Malawi thousands attend opposition alliance announcement. africanews.com, March 19, 2020, accessed March 19, 2020
  15. ↑ Malawi president fires army chief who protected protesters. africanews.com, March 18, 2020, accessed March 18, 2020
  16. ↑ Malawi election body sets July 2 for rerun of annulled poll. africanews.com, March 24, 2020, accessed March 24, 2020
  17. ↑ Malawi president files for election rerun with ex-leader's son. aljazeera.com dated May 7, 2020, accessed on May 8, 2020
  18. ↑ Malawi court throws out Mutharika poll challenge. africanews.com of May 11, 2020, accessed on May 11, 2020