2025 Malawian general election

2025 Malawian general election

16 September 2025
Presidential election
Registered	7,203,390
Turnout	76.39% ( 11.58 pp)
Candidate Peter Mutharika Lazarus Chakwera Party DPP MCP Running mate Jane Ansah Vitumbiko Mumba Popular vote 3,035,249 1,765,170 Percentage 56.76% 33.01%
President before election Lazarus Chakwera Malawi Congress Party Elected President Peter Mutharika DPP
Legislative election
All 229 seats in the National Assembly 115 seats needed for a majority
Party Leader Last election DPP Peter Mutharika 62 MCP Lazarus Chakwera 55 UDF Atupele Muluzi 10 PP Joyce Banda 5 UTM Dalitso Kabambe 4 AFORD Enoch Chihana 1 Independents – 55 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

General elections were held in Malawi on 16 September 2025 to elect the president, the 229 members of the National Assembly and 509 local government councillors.

The presidential election resulted in a victory for former president Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party, who received 57% of the vote. Incumbent president Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party finished second with 33% of the vote.

Background

The election was the second conducted under the two-round constitutional threshold introduced after the annulment of the 2019 Malawian general election and the subsequent fresh presidential election the following year that brought Lazarus Chakwera to power. In July 2024, the United Transformation Movement (UTM) withdrew from the governing Tonse Alliance, leaving the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) to contest the elections on its own.

Electoral system

The president of Malawi is elected using a two-round system. Should no candidate secure an absolute majority in the first round, a run-off is held within 30 days. Members of the National Assembly are elected in single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting.

According to the Malawi Electoral Commission, 7.2 million voters were enrolled after the three registration phases, with women constituting 57% of the electorate. At 65%, the number of eligible voters who enrolled was less from the 80% recorded in 2019.

Parties and alliances

• Malawi Congress Party (MCP) – governing party of President Chakwera; running without the UTM following the collapse of the Tonse Alliance in 2024.
• Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) – main opposition party; endorsed former president Peter Mutharika as its presidential candidate in August 2024.
• People's Party (PP) – led by former president Joyce Banda, who relaunched her national campaign in June 2025.
• United Democratic Front (UDF) – headed by Atupele Muluzi, which has indicated it may field its own ticket if no opposition alliance is formed.
• United Transformation Movement (UTM) – Following the death of founder Saulos Chilima, Vice-President Michael Usi became interim leader as per the party's constitution. He initially expressed interest in leading the party, but did not contest at the November 2024 convention, where Dalitso Kabambe was elected as the new party leader.

Candidates

Declared

• Lazarus Chakwera – incumbent president; endorsed by the MCP in August 2024. His running mate is Vitumbiko Mumba, the former minister of trade and industry and former labour minister, who has been chosen despite MCP constitutional norms that typically favour the First Deputy President.
• Peter Mutharika – former president (2014–2020); nominated by the DPP. His running mate is Jane Ansah, the former Malawi Electoral Commission Chairperson.
• Joyce Banda – former president (2012–2014); announced her candidacy on 23 June 2025. Her running mate is Khumbo Kachali, her former vice‑president during her 2012–2014 term.
• Dalitso Kabambe – Former governor of the Reserve Bank of Malawi and candidate of the UTM party. His running mate is Matthews Mtumbuka.
• Atupele Muluzi – UDF president. His running mate is Dr. Rex Kalolo.

Campaign

The official campaign period began on 14 July 2025 at the Bingu International Conference Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe, with activities continuing through 14 September, two days before polling on 16 September 2025, according to the MEC election calendar.

Presidential debates

Atupele Muluzi, Dalitso Kabambe, and Joyce Banda during the presidential debate. 21 August 2025

The Presidential Debates Taskforce, chaired by MISA Malawi, organised debates ahead of the 2025 general election with support from the National Democratic Institute. The first debate was held on 21 August 2025 at the BICC and broadcast nationally. A second debate was rescheduled to 9 September 2025. Some major candidates, including President Lazarus Chakwera and former president Peter Mutharika, did not participate.

Peace initiative by the Public Affairs Committee

On 8 September 2025, the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) held a National Day of Prayers and Peace Declaration signing at the BICC in Lilongwe. The event brought together several presidential candidates, including President Lazarus Chakwera, Joyce Banda, Atupele Muluzi, and Dalitso Kabambe, who pledged to promote peaceful elections.

The gathering was marked by gestures of unity, though notable absentees included Peter Mutharika and Michael Usi, whose absence drew criticism. PAC chairperson Monsignor Patrick Thawale stressed that the declaration would help manage disputes during and after the elections.

Opinion polls

Opinion polling was conducted by the Institute of Public Opinion Research (IPOR Malawi) ahead of the election. The survey results, including those from July and August 2025, are summarised in the table below.

Polling firm	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Mutharika	Chakwera	Kabambe	Muluzi	Banda	Undecided	None	Lead
2025 general election	16 September 2025	5,502,982	56.8	33	4	1.9	1.6			23.8
IPOR	27 August 2025	–	41	31	6	3	2	11	–	10
IPOR	20 July 2025	–	43	26	5	2	1	12	6	17
2020 presidential election	23 June 2020	4,445,699	39.92	59.34	–	–	–	–	–	19.42

Another poll conducted by Afrobarometer in August 2024 showed that 43% of respondents supported the Democratic Progressive Party, 29% the Malawi Congress Party, 7% the United Transformation Movement, and 2% the United Democratic Front.

Conduct

Civil society and media advocates such as MISA Malawi have called for unrestricted press freedom and safety for journalists, citing prior instances of intimidation during electoral periods. In June 2025, a rally calling for the resignation of top officials of the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) was attacked by masked, machete-wielding men.

MEC engaged six international observer missions, undertaken gender‑sensitive and risk‑management training, and facilitated party briefings on voter roll verification to reinforce preparedness and credibility.

On 29 August 2025, MEC completed the accreditation of election observers for the 16 September general election, approving 19 international observers and 40 local observers.

MEC officials and other stakeholders during dry run test exercise at Chiuzila Primary School in Lilongwe. 27 August 2025

On 27 August 2025, MEC conducted a dry-run of its Results Management System (RMS) ahead of the general election. The exercise, held at the national tally centre in Lilongwe and in selected constituencies, aimed to test the speed, accuracy, and security of results transmission. The test revealed some challenges, including network glitches in Blantyre and Lilongwe that delayed the transmission of results. MEC acknowledged the issues but stated that the system's integrity remained intact and pledged to resolve the problems before polling day.

Results management and observer concerns

In their preliminary report, international and regional observer missions, including the European Union and Southern African Development Community, urged MEC to ensure transparency in the management of election results. The missions, along with several civil society groups, expressed concern about delays in publishing partial results and called for safeguarding election data and materials against tampering or loss.

On 18 September 2025, some political party representatives raised concerns after tally kits from districts including Nkhata Bay, Luchenza, and Kasungu arrived at the national tally centre in Lilongwe without proper security seals. The handover was briefly halted, with MEC pledging to investigate; it later resumed after parties received printouts from the devices for verification.

On 21 September, MEC chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja cautioned political parties against making unverified claims of victory during the tallying process, saying that premature declarations can erode public trust and threaten national peace.

Irregularities and investigations

On 19 September, the MCP said it had found evidence of irregularities in the vote count in 13 of Malawi's 28 districts. Separately, police arrested eight election data entry clerks in the Lilongwe area on suspicion of "manipulating data". An investigation was also launched into the alleged suicide attempt of an election returning officer who had offered bribes in exchange for manipulating the election results. Four domestic broadcasters also stopped live dashboards of their unofficial voting tallies without explanation that same day.

On 20 September, United Democratic Front (UDF) president and presidential candidate Atupele Muluzi claimed there was vote‐rigging in the party's stronghold districts, citing Mangochi and Balaka as some of the areas where serious irregularities occurred. He also alleged that many UDF monitors were directed to leave polling centers and told to return only after results had already been tallied in order to sign the official record sheets. He called for investigations into the matter and urged that all votes cast be properly accounted for.

Civil society organisations, through the Civil Society Elections Integrity Forum (CSEIF), on 20 September called for a speedy and transparent investigation into the recent arrests of electoral officials and clerks in Lilongwe Nkhoma Constituency. Separate inquiries were also reported in Mangochi, Chikwawa, Blantyre, Machinga, and Rumphi, highlighting the broader scope of concern. In a related incident, another presiding officer in Chikwawa allegedly attempted suicide after failing to reconcile manual and electronic tallies. Observers warned that unresolved issues across these cases could undermine public trust in the electoral process.

On 21 September, MCP presidential runningmate Vitumbiko Mumba claimed during a press briefing that three men at Jenda roadblock had been following him for several days from the Mzuzu area with the intention of attacking him. However, Inspector General of Police Merlyn Yolamu stated that the police were not aware of the alleged incident. In the same briefing, MCP spokesperson Jessie Kabwila also alleged that during vote counting in some polling centres, the party's monitors were told to leave, with some reportedly being chased away and others injured.

Results

Initial results suggested that former president Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party was leading in several areas, including the lakeshore districts of Nkhata Bay and Mangochi, in the presidential election. Official tallies were still awaited from the Malawi Electoral Commission. Despite this, both the MCP and the DPP claimed victory on 17 September. From 19 September, the commission began releasing official results, starting with four councils, among them Luchenza municipality and Likoma.

On 18 September 2025, independent presidential candidate Phunziro Mvula conceded defeat, stating that he accepted the outcome and pledged to run again in 2030. The following day, Smart Swira also conceded defeat and urged Malawians to accept the results. On 20 September, Kondwani Nankhumwa of the People's Development Party (PDP) and independent candidate Adil James Chilungo likewise conceded defeat, with Nankhumwa acknowledging that the preliminary results did not favour his party. On 21 September, UTM presidential candidate Dalitso Kabambe conceded defeat and congratulated Peter Mutharika and the DPP, saying unofficial results reflected the will of Malawians and urged a peaceful transfer of power. These concessions were made before the commission had officially announced the winner of the presidential election.

On 23 September, partial results from 24 of Malawi's 36 electoral councils showed Mutharika leading the presidential vote with about 66% of valid ballots counted, with Chakwera trailing significantly. Former president Bakili Muluzi publicly asked Chakwera to accept the likely outcome, saying there is life after State House.

President Chakwera conceded defeat in a televised address on 24 September 2025, several hours before the commission had announced final results. At that point, only 24 of the 36 electoral councils were declared, yet Chakwera acknowledged that his opponent had achieved an insurmountable lead and urged Malawians to support a peaceful transition.

Some analysts interpreted Mutharika's strong showing in the presidential contest as partly the product of a protest vote against the incumbent, citing public dissatisfaction over economic mismanagement, scarcity of goods, and weak decision-making by Chakwera's government. Experts also noted that votes that might otherwise have gone to UTM were diverted to Mutharika, reflecting strategic voting dynamics.

President

Candidate		Running mate	Party	Votes	%
	Peter Mutharika	Jane Ansah	Democratic Progressive Party	3,035,249	56.76
	Lazarus Chakwera	Vitumbiko Mumba	Malawi Congress Party	1,765,170	33.01
	Dalitso Kabambe	Matthews Mtumbuka	United Transformation Movement	211,413	3.95
	Atupele Muluzi	Rex Kalolo	United Democratic Front	102,744	1.92
	Joyce Banda	Khumbo Kachali	Peoples Party	86,106	1.61
	Akwame Bandawe	Asiyatu Abuli	Anyamata Atsikana Azimayi Party	40,052	0.75
	Thokozani Banda	Vera Kaludzu	Independent	22,614	0.42
	Kamuzu Chibambo	Chris Bullah	People's Transformation Party	17,274	0.32
	Michael Usi	Grace Nazitwere	Odya Zake Alibe Mlandu Party	16,922	0.32
	Kondwani Nankhumwa	Bertha Ndebele	People's Development Party	12,251	0.23
	Phunziro Mvula	Cydrack Mkwanda	Independent	9,378	0.18
	Cosmas Chipojola	Memory Naveko	Independent	8,638	0.16
	Adil Chilungo	Mary Mwalukuwo	Independent	8,462	0.16
	Frank Mwenifumbo	Chikondi Mpokosa	National Development Party	5,354	0.10
	Jordan Sauti	Timothy Kaendera	Patriotic Citizens Party	2,196	0.04
	Milward Tobias	Henry Mdebwe	Independent	2,086	0.04
	Smart Swira	Jonathan Matonga	Independent	1,848	0.03
Total				5,347,757	100.00
Valid votes				5,347,757	97.18
Invalid/blank votes				155,225	2.82
Total votes				5,502,982	100.00
Registered voters/turnout				7,203,390	76.39
Source: Zambian Observer

Court rulings

On 22 September 2025, the High Court in Lilongwe dismissed an application by Madalitso Fred Kazombo (former MCP MP and former Deputy Speaker in the last parliament) seeking permission for a judicial review of the Malawi Electoral Commission's conduct in relation to the elections. The case (Judicial Review Cause No. 61 of 2025), heard by Justice Violet Palikena-Chipao, was dismissed on the grounds of procedural irregularities in the documents submitted; such as typographical errors, incorrect legal citations, unclear arguments and inconsistent facts. The court granted Kazombo liberty to refile with properly prepared documents.

On 23 September, President Chakwera and the governing MCP sought an injunction to restrain MEC from announcing the winner, but the High Court, presided over by Judge Howard Pemba, dismissed the application. The court, however, allowed the claimants to pursue a judicial review of the matter, although Chakwera later withdrew the case after conceding defeat.