Voting underway in Malawi elections as southern African nation is gripped by economic turmoil

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BLANTYRE, Malawi (AP) — Voting was underway Tuesday in elections in Malawi to choose a president, lawmakers and local government representatives in the midst of economic turmoil in one of the world’s least-developed countries.

Malawians face a choice between giving President Lazarus Chakwera, 70, a second term in office or selecting another leader to solve the southern African nation’s sky-high inflation, cost-of-living crisis and critical fuel shortages.

There are 16 other candidates standing for president in the one-day election, including 85-year-old former President Peter Mutharika, whose victory in a 2019 vote as the incumbent was nullified by a court because of widespread irregularities. He is viewed as Chakwera’s strongest challenger in this vote.

Another former president, Joyce Banda, also is running for the top position, but analysts see the election as a race between Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party and Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party.

The elections are the country’s first national polls since the chaos of 2019, which led to a court ruling the presidential election needed to be redone in 2020. Chakwera, a former theology instructor and preacher, won the second election after Mutharika’s victory was ruled to be fraudulent.

It marked only the second time in Africa that a presidential election result was canceled and redone and the first time an incumbent was removed in a redo election.

While Chakwera’s 2020 election was greeted with a surge of public support, the national mood has changed after five hard years.

Inflation has surged from around 8% to 27% under Chakwera and there are critical shortages of fuel and sugar. Long lines at gas stations have become part of daily life, while everyday food items like the staple corn have become unaffordable for many.

Cyclone Freddy in 2023 and an El Niño-inspired drought in 2024 destroyed crops and worsened food insecurity and hardship in a country where more than 80% of the population of 21 million live in rural areas and rely on agriculture.

A military plane crash last year killed Vice President Saulos Chilima, who was seen as a leader in waiting. The fatal accident produced a rare moment when Malawi hit global headlines.

Malawians waited patiently Tuesday in queues in the capital, Lilongwe, and the country's commercial hub, Blantyre, as polls opened soon after 6 a.m. By law the results must be announced within seven days of the election, while a possible runoff must occur within 30 days of the results announcement.

There is a strong likelihood the election will go to a runoff after the failed 2019 voted prompted a change in Malawian electoral law. The format implemented after 2020 requires the winner to receive more than 50% of the vote. Because no candidate is expected to get more than 50% in the first round, a runoff and another vote pitting Chakwera against Mutharika is expected.

Mutharika has a long history in Malawian politics, having served in the Cabinet under his older brother, Bingu wa Mutharika, who was president from 2004 to 2012. Peter Mutharika then served as president from 2014 to 2020. He is taking another shot at the presidency despite a court finding evidence of fraud in his win six years ago, including the use of correctional fluid to change vote tally sheets.

Around 7.2 million people have registered to vote, just 65% of those who are eligible and down from 80% in 2019. The Malawi Electoral Commission is under close scrutiny to ensure a free and fair election after 2019.

Malawi is a former British protectorate that won independence in 1964. It was ruled for 30 years by the autocratic Hastings Banda until 1994 but has developed a relatively peaceful multiparty democracy over the last two decades.

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