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General elections were held in Malawi on 15 June 1999 for President and the National Assembly, having originally been scheduled for 25 May, [1] but then postponed twice as a result of requests by the opposition to extend the voter registration period. [2] Both votes were won by the ruling United Democratic Front, who took 93 of the 192 seats in the National Assembly, and whose candidate, Bakili Muluzi, won the presidential election with an absolute majority.
Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. Malawi is over 118,000 km2 (45,560 sq mi) with an estimated population of 18,091,575. Lake Malawi takes up about a third of Malawi's area. Its capital is Lilongwe, which is also Malawi's largest city; the second largest is Blantyre, the third is Mzuzu and the fourth largest is its old capital Zomba. The name Malawi comes from the Maravi, an old name of the Nyanja people that inhabit the area. The country is also nicknamed "The Warm Heart of Africa" because of the friendliness of the people.
The President of the Republic of Malawi is the head of state and head of government of Malawi. The president leads the executive branch of the Government of Malawi and is the commander-in-chief of the Malawian Defence Force.
The United Democratic Front is a political party in Malawi founded in 1992 by Bakili Muluzi. It claims to be a liberal party in Malawi and is mainly strong in the southern region populated by ethnic Yao. Bakili Muluzi was President of Malawi from 1994 to 2004.
In total, eleven parties contested the elections, with 670 candidates. [2] Voter turnout was 94%. [3]
Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
---|---|---|---|
Bakili Muluzi | United Democratic Front | 2,442,685 | 52.34 |
Gwanda Chakuamba | Malawi Congress Party–Alliance for Democracy | 2,106,790 | 45.21 |
Kamlepo Kalua | Malawi Democratic Party | 67,856 | 1.45 |
Daniel Kanfosi Nkhumbwe | Congress for National Unity | 24,349 | 0.52 |
Bingu wa Mutharika | United Party | 22,064 | 0.47 |
Invalid/blank votes | 80,021 | – | |
Total | 4,746,765 | 100 | |
Registered voters/turnout | 5,071,822 | 93.59 | |
Source: MEC |
Elections were not held in the Mchinji West constituency on polling day due to the death of a candidate. [4]
Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
---|---|---|---|---|
United Democratic Front | 2,124,999 | 47.32 | 93 | +8 |
Malawi Congress Party | 1,518,548 | 33.81 | 66 | +10 |
Alliance for Democracy | 474,215 | 10.56 | 29 | –7 |
United Party | 26,073 | 0.58 | 0 | New |
Malawi Democratic Party | 11,384 | 0.25 | 0 | 0 |
Social Democratic Party | 7,297 | 0.16 | 0 | New |
Malawi Democratic Union | 3,269 | 0.07 | 0 | 0 |
Congress for National Unity | 3,023 | 0.07 | 0 | New |
Sapitwa National Democratic Party | 1,372 | 0.03 | 0 | New |
National Patriotic Front | 1,149 | 0.03 | 0 | New |
Mass Movement for the Young Generation | 708 | 0.02 | 0 | New |
Independents | 319,969 | 7.10 | 4 | +4 |
Vacant | – | – | 1 | – |
Invalid/blank votes | 192,944 | – | – | – |
Total | 4,683,950 | 100 | 193 | +16 |
Registered voters/turnout | 5,071,822 | 92.35 | – | – |
Source: MEC |
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