2019 Malawian general election
21 May 2019
Presidential election
Turnout74.44%
 
Nominee Peter Mutharika Lazarus Chakwera Saulos Chilima
Party DPP MCP UTM
Running mate Everton Chimulirenji Sidik Mia Michael Usi
Popular vote 1,940,709 1,781,740 1,018,369
Percentage 38.57% 35.41% 20.24%
Results by district
President before election

Peter Mutharika
DPP

 Elected President

None (election results annulled)

Legislative election
All 193 seats in the National Assembly
97 seats needed for a majority
PartyLeader % Seats +/–
DPP Peter Mutharika 26.04 62 +11
MCP Lazarus Chakwera 22.32 55 +7
UTM Saulos Chilima 9.90 4 New
UDF Atupele Muluzi 4.58 10 −4
PP Joyce Banda 2.44 5 −21
AFORD Enoch Chihana 0.49 1 +1
Independents – 33.43 55 +3
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

General elections were held in Malawi on 21 May 2019 to elect the President, National Assembly and local government councillors.[1] Incumbent President Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party was re-elected, with his party remaining the largest in the National Assembly. However, on 3 February 2020, the Constitutional Court annulled the presidential election results due to evidence of irregularities, and ordered fresh elections be held.[2] They were widely dubbed the "Tipp-Ex elections" after a brand of correction fluid which opponents claimed had been used to tamper with votes.

Electoral system

The President of Malawi is elected using the first-past-the-post system; the candidate that receives the most votes is the winner of the election.[3] The 193 members of the National Assembly are also elected by first-past-the-post voting in single-member constituencies.[4]

Presidential candidates

A total of ten candidates registered to contest the elections.[5] Incumbent President Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) ran for a second term in office.[6] Vice-President Saulos Chilima also contested the election as the United Transformation Movement (UTM) candidate, having left the DPP in 2018.[7] The other candidates included Lazarus Chakwera (Malawi Congress Party) and Atupele Muluzi (United Democratic Front).

Former president Joyce Banda (People's Party) had originally planned to run for the presidency, but withdrew her candidacy two months before the election;[8] she later endorsed opposition candidate Lazarus Chakwera.[9][10] Ras Chikomeni Chirwa was disqualified due to lack of funds and failing to collect enough signatures.[11]

TV debates took place in the lead-up to the elections.[12]

Results

President

CandidateRunning matePartyVotes%
Peter MutharikaEverton ChimulirenjiDemocratic Progressive Party1,940,70938.57
Lazarus ChakweraSidik MiaMalawi Congress Party1,781,74035.41
Saulos ChilimaMichael UsiUnited Transformation Movement1,018,36920.24
Atupele MuluziFrank Tumpale MwenifumboUnited Democratic Front235,1644.67
Peter KuwaniArchibald Kalawang'omaMbakuwaku Movement for Development20,3690.40
John Eugenes ChisiTimothy Watch KamuleteUmodzi Party19,1870.38
Hadwick KaliyaMabvuto Alfred Ng'onaIndependent15,7260.31
Total5,031,264100.00
Valid votes5,031,26498.54
Invalid/blank votes74,7191.46
Total votes5,105,983100.00
Registered voters/turnout6,859,57074.44
Source: Malawi Electoral Commission

National Assembly

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Democratic Progressive Party1,293,79726.0462+11
Malawi Congress Party1,108,73522.3255+7
United Transformation Movement491,8459.904New
United Democratic Front227,3354.5810–4
People's Party121,0722.445–21
Alliance for Democracy24,2120.4910
Other parties40,2090.8100
Independents1,660,56933.4355+3
Vacant1–
Total4,967,774100.001930
Valid votes4,967,77497.97
Invalid/blank votes103,1742.03
Total votes5,070,948100.00
Registered voters/turnout6,859,57073.93
Source: Maravi Post, MEC

Aftermath

The results of the 2019 elections were highly controversial and opposition leaders led by Lazarus Chakwera and Saulos Chilima disputed the results in court. Nationwide protests were held in May, June, and July 2019 in which supporters of the opposition accused the results of being rigged by Mutharika and Jane Ansah, chairperson of the Malawi Electoral Commission, calling for Ansah’s resignation. Malawian youth organised a "Jane Ansah Must Fall" campaign, which included days of protests in several cities. In response, thousands of women in Malawi held "I am Jane Ansah" solidarity protests after alleging that Ansah was the victim of gender discrimination.[13][14]

On 3 February 2020, the Constitutional Court judges arrived in Lilongwe to read the disputed presidential election results judgement after travelling in a military vehicle with a heavy police escort. The judges took turns to read the 500-page decision over more than seven hours.[15] The ruling nullified the results of the presidential election, concluding they had not met the standards of a free and fair election and that the Malawi Electoral Commission had failed to uphold its constitutional responsibilities. The judgement cited tampering of results, failure to address complaints raised by opposition candidates, and numerous other malpractices.[2] The ruling also called into question the use of a plurality system in the presidential elections, stating the Malawi Constitution requires a majority of votes.[2]

Mutharika was declared not duly elected and thus no longer President. The judges ordered fresh elections be held within 150 days.[16]

Although DPP won a plurality of seats, elections in three of the seats it won were annulled due to irregularities, and thus they were reduced to 59 lawmakers in the Parliament.[17]

References

  1. ↑ MEC announces Malawi tripartite election date: May 21 2019 Nyasa Times, 21 February 2018
  2. 1 2 3 Dionne, Kim Yi; Dulani, Boniface (4 February 2020). "A Malawi court just ordered a do-over presidential election. Here's what you need to know". The Washington Post. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  3. ↑ Republic of Malawi: Election for President IFES
  4. ↑ Electoral system IPU
  5. ↑ 10 to contest for presidency in Malawi May polls Xinhua, 9 February 2019
  6. ↑ Malawi's Mutharika Insists He Will Seek Final Presidential Term in 2019 Nyasa Times, 16 May 2018
  7. ↑ Malawi Vice President Saulos Chilima turns opposition candidate in race for polls in May Archived 28 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine Gulf Times, 14 January 2019
  8. ↑ Ex-president Banda pulls out of Malawi presidential race Reuters, 14 March 2019
  9. ↑ "Joyce Banda Withdraws from Malawi Presidential Race". VOA. 15 March 2019.
  10. ↑ "Malawi ex-leader Banda seals another opposition pact". AFP via Eyewitness News South Africa. 18 March 2019.
  11. ↑ Ras Chikomeni pursuing case to be on ballot: Judge refuses injunction ex-parte Nyasa Times, 9 February 2019
  12. ↑ Kramon, Eric (2023). "Candidate Debates and Partisan Divisions Evidence From Malawi's 2019 Presidential Elections". Comparative Political Studies. doi:10.1177/00104140231193016. ISSN 0010-4140.
  13. ↑ Masina, Lameck (21 June 2019). "Malawi Women Protest in Defense of Embattled Election Chairperson". Voice of America. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  14. ↑ "Malawi's concerned youths on MEC Chair Jane Ansah must fall campaign". Maravipost.com. 5 May 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  15. ↑ "Malawi anxiously awaits verdict on alleged presidential election fraud". rfi.fr. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  16. ↑ "Malawi top court annuls presidential election results". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  17. ↑ "Tonse MPs to move to govt benches in Parliament: DPP to provide opposition leader, MCP ruling party - Malawi Nyasa Times - News from Malawi about Malawi". 28 June 2020.
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