editor
As Malawi grapples with a deteriorating economy and inflation nearing 30 percent, two of the country’s former presidents—Peter Mutharika and Joyce Banda—officially launched their presidential campaigns on Sunday ahead of the general elections scheduled for September 16, 2025.
In this small southern African nation of 21 million people, the race for the presidency is expected to focus on key issues such as hunger, unemployment, and the rising cost of living.
Addressing thousands of his supporters in Blantyre, Malawi’s second-largest city, 85-year-old Mutharika, who leads the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), vowed to rescue Malawi from what he called “political and economic suffering.”
“Today, Malawi is in pain—hunger, poverty, and fear of a government that was supposed to protect us. We should respect the government, not fear it,” said Mutharika.
Mutharika served as president from 2014 to 2020, but his 2019 election victory was annulled by the courts due to irregularities in the voting process. Since then, he has remained the main challenger to current President Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP).
Opposition leaders have consistently accused Chakwera’s administration of suppressing dissent and failing to improve the lives of ordinary citizens.
In June, a small protest calling for an independent audit of the voter register was disrupted by unidentified individuals. The opposition blamed ruling party supporters for the incident—an allegation the government has denied.
Meanwhile, Malawi’s first female president, 74-year-old Joyce Banda, also officially launched her campaign in the central town of Ntcheu. A teacher and women’s rights activist, Banda now leads the People’s Party.
In her speech, Banda emphasized that her campaign would focus on “youth empowerment and job creation.”
“Malawi cannot continue being a country of dreamers without hope. Our youth need jobs and real opportunities,” she declared.
Banda assumed the presidency in 2012 following the death of then-president Bingu wa Mutharika, but she lost the 2014 election.
