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.
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.
General elections were held in Malawi on 20 May 2004 to elect a President and the National Assembly. The election had originally been scheduled for 18 May but was postponed for two days in response to opposition complaints of irregularities in the voter roll. By 22 May no results had been announced, leading to protests from the opposition and threats of disorder. On 25 May the Malawi Electoral Commission finally announced the results of the election. Bingu wa Mutharika, the candidate of the ruling United Democratic Front, was declared the winner of the presidential poll, whilst the Malawi Congress Party had won most seats in the National Assembly vote. Voter turnout was around 62%.
The Alliance for Democracy is a political party in Malawi that marked its history as laying the foundation for multi-party rule in Malawi. It began as an underground political movement during the Kamuzu Banda era and later evolved to a political party during the multi-party era under the leadership of trade union activist, Chakufwa Chihana. AFORD has a stronghold in the northern region. The president is Godfrey Shawa.
John Zenus Ungapake Tembo is a Malawian politician who served for years as President of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP). Tembo comes from the Dedza District in central Malawi, and he is a teacher by profession. Beginning in the 1960s he was an important politician in Malawi, and he was a key figure in the regime of Hastings Banda (1964–1994). He has been variously described as "physically slight, ascetic, fastidious" and "cunning". He was replaced as President of the MCP in August 2013.
Gwandaguluwe "Gwanda" Chakuamba Phiri was a Malawian politician who was the leader of the New Republican Party (NRP). He hailed from Nsanje, a district on the southern part of Malawi.
Rodwell Thomas Changara Munyenyembe was a Malawian politician who served twice as Speaker of the National Assembly, from 1994 to 1999 and again from 2004 until his death. He also twice served as a cabinet minister, in the governments of Hastings Banda and Bakili Muluzi. He worked as a teacher prior to entering politics.
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.
General elections were held in Malawi on 17 May 1994. Following the restoration of democracy the previous year, they were the first multi-party elections in the country since prior to independence in 1964. The elections for President and the National Assembly were both won by the United Democratic Front (UDF), ending the 30-year rule of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP). Former President-for-life Hastings Banda, in power since independence, was defeated in the one-round presidential election by the UDF's Bakili Muluzi.
General elections were due to be held for the Legislative Council in Nyasaland on 28 April 1964, and would have been the first in the country under universal suffrage. However, there were no opposition candidates to either the Malawi Congress Party in the general roll seats, or the Nyasaland Constitutional Party in the special roll seats, resulting in all 53 candidates winning without votes being cast.
General elections were due to be held in Malawi on 17 April 1971, the first since the pre-independence elections in 1964. The Malawi Congress Party had been the only legally permitted party in the country since 1966. Each of the 60 constituencies had three to five candidates nominated by party committees. These candidates were then submitted to President Hastings Banda, who selected a single candidate for each seat. As there was only one candidate for each constituency, no voting actually took place on election day, as there was no opposition.
General elections were due to be held in Malawi on 24 May 1976. The Malawi Congress Party had been the only legally permitted party since 1966. Each of the 70 constituencies had a maximum of five candidates proposed by at least two registered voters. These candidates were then submitted to President-for-life Hastings Banda, who selected a single candidate for each seat. As a result, all 70 candidates were returned unopposed.
General elections were held in Malawi on 29 and 30 June 1983. As the country had become a one-party state in 1966, the Malawi Congress Party was the sole legal party at the time. The number of seats was increased to 101, whilst President-for-life Hastings Banda was able to appoint as many additional members as he saw fit to "enhance the representative character of the Assembly, or to represent particular minority or other special interests in the Republic." Ultimately, an additional 11 members were appointed.
General elections were held in Malawi on 26 and 27 June 1992. the Malawi Congress Party was the sole legal party at the time, the country having become a one-party state in 1966. Voter turnout was reported to be 80% by the government, but was actually around 40%. 62 incumbents lost their seats.
Sidik Mia is a Malawian businessman and a politician who is a Member of Parliament and held various ministerial positions within the Cabinet of Malawi beginning in 2004. He has recently been elected as vice president of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) at the parties national convention which was held at the MCP headquarters in Lilongwe on 12th May 2018. Following his election as the vice president of MCP, he is poised to be a running mate to Dr. Lazarus Chakwera in the forthcoming general elections to be held in 2019. Sidik Mia has replaced Richard Msowoya who feels bitter about it. Meanwhile the former Secretary General of MCP, Gustave Kaliwo has threatened that the convention is illegal citing that it did not follow the procedure as stipulated in the MCP constitution. It is not known what action will be taken by Gustave Kaliwo. However, the convention was attended by high ranking people including the former president of MCP, John Tembo and Mama Cecelia Kadzamira, wife and official hostess to the former president Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda. Following the sudden death of President Bingu wa Mutharika in April 2012, he led a delegation of fellow cabinet ministers and Democratic Progressive Party members who sided with his successor, Joyce Banda.
Rose Lomathinda Chibambo was a prominent politician in the British Protectorate of Nyasaland in the years leading up to independence as the state of Malawi in 1964, and immediately after.
The Cabinet Crisis of 1964 in Malawi occurred in August and September 1964 shortly after independence when, after an unresolved confrontation between the Prime Minister, Hastings Banda and the cabinet ministers present on 26 August 1964, three ministers and a parliamentary secretary were dismissed on 7 September. These dismissals were followed by the resignations of three more cabinet ministers and another parliamentary secretary, in sympathy with those dismissed. Initially, this only left the President and one other minister in post, although one of those who had resigned rescinded his resignation within a few hours. The reasons that the ex-ministers put forward for the confrontation and subsequent resignations were the autocratic attitude of Banda, who failed to consult other ministers and kept power in his own hands, his insistence on maintaining diplomatic relations with South Africa and Portugal and a number of domestic austerity measures. It is unclear whether the former ministers intended to remove Banda entirely, to reduce his role to that of a non-executive figurehead or simply to force him to recognise collective cabinet responsibility. Banda seized the initiative, firstly, by dismissing some of the dissidents rather than negotiating, and secondly, by holding a debate on a motion of confidence on 8 and 9 September 1964. As the result of the debate was an overwhelming vote of confidence, Banda declined to reinstate any of the ministers or offer them any other posts, despite the urging of the Governor-General to compromise. After some unrest, and clashes between supporters of the ex-ministers and of Banda, most of the former left Malawi in October with their families and leading supporters, for Zambia or Tanzania. One ex-minister, Henry Chipembere went into hiding inside Malawi and, in February 1965 led a small, unsuccessful armed uprising. After its failure, he was able to arrange for his transfer to the USA. Another ex-minister, Yatuta Chisiza, organised an even smaller incursion from Mozambique in 1967, in which he was killed. Several of the former ministers died in exile or, in the case of Orton Chirwa in a Malawian jail, but some survived to return to Malawi after Banda was deposed and to return to public life.
Colin Cameron is a Scottish lawyer and politician who served as a Minister and MP in Malawi in the early 1960s.
