Malawian general election, 2014
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7,537,548 registered voters[1] Simple-majority votes needed to win |
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| Turnout | 5,288,258 (70.78%)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General elections were held in Malawi on 20 May 2014. They were Malawi's first tripartite elections, making it the first time the people of Malawi voted for their local governments, members of parliament and president in a single election.[3] The presidential election was won by opposition candidate Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party, who defeated incumbent President Joyce Banda.
Contents
Background
Malawi's CPI increased by 27.7% in 2013, but its GDP grew by only 5%.[4] Malawi has maintained a polity score of 6 since 2005, designating it as a democracy.[5] Malawi's previous presidential election in 2009 was only the fourth such election in the country's history following the end of Hastings Banda's period of one-man rule in 1994.
Bingu wa Mutharika, who had won the 2004 election, picked his Foreign Minister Joyce Banda to be Vice President after successfully contesting the 2009 election. She was expelled from the Democratic Progressive Party and formed the People's Party when she refused to endorse President Bingu wa Mutharika's younger brother Peter Mutharika for president in the 2014 general election.[6]
Bingu wa Mutharika died of a heart attack on 5 April 2012, and Joyce Banda took the presidency according to the constitution, despite protests about not belonging to the ruling party.
The People's Party entered the election with a sitting president, but little in the way of a grass-roots machine.[6]
Presidential
Candidates
Twelve candidates were allowed to contest in the election by the Malawi Electoral Commission:[7]
| Portrait | Nominee | Party | Running mate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 75px | Joyce Banda | People's Party (PP) | Sosten Gwengwe | |
 |
Peter Mutharika | Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) | Saulos Chilima | |
| Lazarus Chakwera | Malawi Congress Party (MCP) | Richard Msowoya | ||
| Atupele Muluzi | United Democratic Front (UDF) | Godfrey Chapola | ||
| James Nyondo | National Salvation Front (NASAF) | Ethel Changa | ||
| Mark Katsonga | Progressive Party Movement (PPM) | Jacob Mbunge | ||
| Davis Katsonga | Chipani cha Pfuko (CCP) | Godfrey Matenganya | ||
| George Nnesa | Tisinthe Alliance (TA) | Sylvester Chabuka | ||
| Hellen Singh | United Independent Party (UIP) | Chrissy Tembo | ||
| Kamuzu Chibambo | People's Transformation Party (Petra) | White Scander | ||
| Friday Jumbe | Labour Party (LP) | Joseph Kubwalo | ||
| John Chisi | Umodzi Party (UP) | William Tayub | ||
Opinion polls
The Malawi Electoral Commission cautions that opinion pollsters in Malawi often have questionable credentials and publish biased reports.[8] Some opinion polls have been criticized for lacking credibility and using non-scientific methods.[9]
| Poll source | Date | Sample size | Joyce Banda (PP) |
Peter Mutharika (DPP) |
Lazarus Chakwera (MCP) |
Atupele Muluzi (UDF) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research Tech Consultants[9] | April 2014 | 3,883 | 42% | 10% | 23% | 10% |
| Nyasa Times Media[10] | April 2014 | 79,030 | 30% | 19% | 29% | 22% |
| Afrobarometer[11] | April 2014 | 2,400 | 14% | 27% | 21% | 14% |
| Election Results | 30 May 2014 | 20.2% | 36.4% | 27.8% | 13.7% |
Polling day
Amid a breakdown in electronic systems for relaying results back to IEC[clarification needed] headquarters, Banda claimed fraud and attempted to cancel the election after only one third of the votes were counted, and Peter Mutharika, brother of the 2009 election winner, was well ahead. Banda said another vote should be held within 90 days, and she said she would not be standing, but opposition parties and the Malawi Law Society objected.[12]
Court action ensued,[13] but the IEC said the first count would be completed, and a recount started. The result would only be announced after the recount, estimated to take two months.
Results
On 30 May 2014, the High Court ruled that any recount must be done within eight days of the vote; since the allowed period had already ended, the court ruled that the electoral commission should announce the results.[14] Accordingly, the electoral commission declared later in the day that Mutharika had won the presidential election with 36.4% of the vote. Another opposition candidate, Lazarus Chakwera of the MCP, received 27.8%, while Banda trailed in third place with 20.2%. The head of the commission, Maxon Mbendera, said that "the rule of law compels us to release the results", although he acknowledged that some of the commission's members had "reservations" about them.[15] Banda quickly said that she accepted the outcome, although she continued to describe the vote as "fraudulent".[16]
Mutharika was sworn in as President on the morning of 31 May 2014.[17] Banda congratulated Mutharika and called for national unity, urging the people to support the new President and wishing him success.[18] An inauguration ceremony for Mutharika was held in Blantyre on 2 June 2014. Banda was not present at the inauguration, held at Kamuzu Stadium, and her absence was viewed by some as a snub, given the history of bitter rivalry between the two. Mutharika said that he was offering an olive branch and wanted to "bury the past", expressing "regret" at Banda's absence. He said that he was not interested in "vengeance", although he added that "those who have broken the law will face the full course of justice".[19]
President
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Mutharika | Democratic Progressive Party | 1,904,399 | 36.4 |
| Lazarus Chakwera | Malawi Congress Party | 1,455,880 | 27.8 |
| Joyce Banda | People's Party | 1,056,236 | 20.2 |
| Atupele Muluzi | United Democratic Front | 717,224 | 13.7 |
| Kamuzu Chibambo | People's Transformation Party | 19,360 | 0.4 |
| Mark Katsonga | Progressive Party Movement | 15,830 | 0.3 |
| John Chisi | Umodzi Party | 12,048 | 0.2 |
| George Nnesa | Tisinthe Alliance | 11,042 | 0.2 |
| James Nyondo | National Salvation Front | 10,623 | 0.2 |
| Hellen Singh | United Independent Party | 9,668 | 0.2 |
| Friday Jumbe | Labour Party | 8,819 | 0.2 |
| Davis Katsonga | Chipani cha Pfuko | 7,454 | 0.1 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 56,695 | – | |
| Total | 5,285,278 | 100 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | 7,470,806 | 70.7 | |
| Source: MEC | |||
National Assembly
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Progressive Party | 1,133,402 | 21.98 | 51 | –63 |
| People's Party | 935,994 | 18.15 | 26 | New |
| Malawi Congress Party | 895,659 | 17.37 | 48 | +22 |
| United Democratic Front | 496,765 | 9.63 | 14 | –3 |
| Progressive Party Movement | 33,817 | 0.66 | 0 | 0 |
| Alliance for Democracy | 31,907 | 0.62 | 1 | 0 |
| United Independent Party | 24,132 | 0.47 | 0 | New |
| National Salvation Front | 19,616 | 0.38 | 0 | New |
| Nthanda Congress Party | 16,497 | 0.32 | 0 | New |
| New Rainbow Coalition | 14,091 | 0.27 | 0 | 0 |
| Chipani cha Pfuko | 10,545 | 0.20 | 1 | New |
| New Labour Party | 4,473 | 0.09 | 0 | New |
| Umodzi Party | 3,145 | 0.06 | 0 | New |
| Malawi Forum for Unity and Development | 2,814 | 0.05 | 0 | –1 |
| People's Transformation Party | 2,746 | 0.05 | 0 | 0 |
| Maravi People's Party | 733 | 0.01 | 0 | –1 |
| People's Democratic Movement | 471 | 0.01 | 0 | New |
| Independents | 1,530,485 | 29.68 | 52 | +20 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 74,889 | – | – | – |
| Total | 5,232,181 | 100 | 193 | – |
| Registered voters/turnout | 7,448,247 | 70.25 | – | – |
| Source: MEC, MEC | ||||
Local government
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Progressive Party | 165 | |||
| Malawi Congress Party | 131 | |||
| People's Party | 65 | |||
| United Democratic Front | 57 | |||
| Chipani cha Pfuko | 2 | |||
| Alliance for Democracy | 1 | |||
| National Salvation Front | 1 | |||
| Independents | 35 | |||
| By-elections pending | – | – | 5 | |
| Invalid/blank votes | 121,170 | – | – | |
| Total | 5,153, 993 | 100 | 457 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | 68.99 | – | ||
| Source: Nyasa Times, Shanghai Daily | ||||
References
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- ↑ "Malawi Election Commission News", 2009
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- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Madonna attacks Malawi's president after attempt to nullify elections The Guardian
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- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Malawi to recount votes after fraud claims News24
- ↑ Malawi court demands election results before recount
- ↑ Zawadi Chilunga, "Court rules MEC should declare winner of Malawi presidential polls", Nyasa Times, 30 May 2014.
- ↑ Zawadi Chilunga, "Mutharika declared winner in Malawi 2014 presidential election", Nyasa Times, 30 May 2014.
- ↑ Wanga Gwede, "JB accepts to hand over power to APM: Malawi presidency", Nyasa Times, 30 May 2014.
- ↑ Zawadi Chilunga, "'So help me God': Mutharika sworn in as Malawi President, Chilima VP", Nyasa Times, 31 May 2014.
- ↑ Thom Chiumia, "Defeated JB congratulates Mutharika: 'Malawi must move forward'", Nyasa Times, 31 May 2014.
- ↑ Zawadi Chilunga, "Mutharika regrets JB's snub in power handover: Muluzi cheered", Nyasa Times, 2 June 2014.
