Politics of Malawi takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Malawi is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly. There is a cabinet of Malawi that is appointed by the President of Malawi. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The government of Malawi has been a multi-party democracy since 1994. The Economist Intelligence Unit has rated Malawi as "hybrid regime" in 2016.
Malawi's former President Bakili Muluzi continued the pro-Western foreign policy established by former President Hastings Banda. It maintains excellent diplomatic relations with principal Western countries. Malawi's close relations with South Africa throughout the apartheid era strained its relations with other African nations. Following the collapse of apartheid in 1994, Malawi developed, and currently maintains, strong diplomatic relations with all African countries.
Lilongwe is the capital and most populated city of the African state of Malawi. It has a population of 989,318 as of the 2018 Census, up from a population of 674,448 in 2008. The city is located in the central region of Malawi, in the district of the same name, near the borders with Mozambique and Zambia, and it is an important economic and transportation hub for central Malawi. It is named after the Lilongwe River.
Hastings Kamuzu Banda was the prime minister and later president of Malawi from 1964 to 1994. In 1966, the country became a republic and he became president.
The flag of Malawi was officially adopted on 6 July 1964 when the colony of Nyasaland became independent from British rule and renamed itself Malawi.
Bingu wa Mutharika ) was a Malawian politician and economist who was President of Malawi from May 2004 until his death in April 2012. He was also President of the Democratic Progressive Party, which he founded in February 2005; it obtained a majority in Malawi's parliament in the 2009 general election. During his two terms in office, he was noted for being the Chairperson of the African Union in 2010–2011, as well as for several domestic controversies. In 2009, he purchased a private presidential jet for $13.26 million. This was followed almost immediately by a nationwide fuel shortage which was officially blamed on logistical problems, but was more likely due to the hard currency shortage caused by the freezing of aid by the international community He died of cardiac arrest in Lilongwe while in office on 5 April 2012, at age 78.
Malawi elects on national level a head of state - the president - and a legislature. The president and the vice-president are elected on one ballot for a five-year term by the people. A simple plurality is required to win; there is no provision for a runoff election. The National Assembly has 193 members, elected for a five-year term in single-seat constituencies. Malawi is a multi-party system, which means that there are multiple parties as well as a number of independent politicians who do not formally associate with any party.
Joyce Hilda Banda is a Malawian politician who was the President of Malawi from 7 April 2012 to 31 May 2014. She is the founder and leader of the People's Party, created in 2011. An educator and grassroots women's rights activist, she was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2006 to 2009 and Vice-President of Malawi from May 2009 to April 2012.
Raising Malawi is a charity non-profit organization that was founded by Madonna and Michael Berg in 2006. It is dedicated to helping with the extreme poverty and hardship endured by Malawi's one million orphans, primarily through health and education programming. Initially, the "Raising Malawi Academy for Girls" was to be constructed but following an audit by the Global Philanthropy Group, which questioned expenditure on salaries and benefits as well as the management capacity and culture, the charity's school headmistress resigned in October 2010 and the project was scrapped.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Malawi face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents.
General elections were held in Malawi on 19 May 2009. Incumbent President Bingu wa Mutharika ran for re-election; his main opponent was John Tembo, the president of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP). Five other candidates also ran. The election was won by Mutharika, who was re-elected to the Presidency with around two-thirds of the vote. Mutharika's DPP also won a strong parliamentary majority.
The Malawian Defence Force is the state military organisation responsible for defending Malawi. It originated from British colonial units formed before independence in 1964.
The First Lady or Gentleman of Malawi is the title held by the spouse of the President of Malawi, an office created in 1964. The country's present First Gentleman is Justice Richard Banda, who took office in April 2012.
General elections were held in Malawi on 20 May 2014. They were Malawi's first tripartite elections, the first time the President, National Assembly and local councillors were elected on the same day. The presidential election was won by opposition candidate Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party, who defeated incumbent President Joyce Banda.
Saulos Klaus Chilima is a Malawian economist and politician. Before joining politics, Chilima held key leadership positions in various multi-national companies including Unilever, Coca-Cola and Airtel Malawi, where he rose to become Chief Executive Officer.
Lake Malawi is a Czech indie pop band from Třinec formed in 2013. The band consists of lead vocalist, guitarist, and keyboardist Albert Černý, bassist and keyboardist Jeroným Šubrt, and drummer Antonín Hrabal. The band was formed by Černý following the breakup of his former band Charlie Straight. Their debut extended play We Are Making Love Again was released in 2015, followed by their debut studio album Surrounded by Light in 2017. They represented the Czech Republic in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song, "Friend of a Friend", and came 11th out of a total of 41.
General elections were held in Malawi on 21 May 2019 to elect the President, National Assembly and local government councillors.
"Friend of a Friend" is a song performed by Czech band Lake Malawi. The song represented the Czech Republic in the 2019 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv. The song was announced as the winner of the country's national selection on 28 January 2019. The song was performed during the first semi-final on 14 May 2019, and gained enough votes to qualify for the grand final, where it placed 11th on 18 May 2019.
