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This time, Chakwera, 70, of the Malawi Congress Party is seeking a second term. Mutharika, 85, of the Democratic Progressive Party, is hoping to return to the leadership.
Malawi is holding a presidential election this week as one of Africa’s poorer countries grapples with an economic crisis, food and fuel shortages — and memories of a vote six years ago that was canceled and a redo ordered because of widespread irregularities.
Incumbent President Lazarus Chakwera, a former theology instructor and preacher, was the challenger in the 2019 election that was won by then-incumbent Peter Mutharika, only for it to be nullified by the country’s highest court. The following year, Chakwera won a redo of the election.
This time, Chakwera, 70, of the Malawi Congress Party is seeking a second term. Mutharika, 85, of the Democratic Progressive Party, is hoping to return to the leadership.
They two are seen as the main contenders in Tuesday’s election, which has a lineup of 17 presidential candidates, including another former president, Joyce Banda. Malawians will also elect lawmakers to Parliament and more than 500 local council members.
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Five years ago, Chakwera’s eventual victory came after months of street protests in his support. But things have changed after five hard years and this vote takes place amid economic turmoil and shaky trust in public institutions in the southern African nation of 21 million. Inflation and the cost of living have risen.Malawi is landlocked and relies heavily on agriculture, with more than 80 percent of the population living in rural areas and relying on small-scale farming. Its biggest export is tobacco.
