MALAWI: NATIONAL HEAD ELECTIONS SHOW A CHANGE IN WHAT IT MEANS FOR REFUGEES
From September 16, 2025, the people of Malawi, located in southern Africa, will go to the polls to elect a president and members of the legislature. This is the first election in 5 years that the country has been led by President DR LAZARIUS CHAKWERA and his MCP party.
The Malawi Congress Party (MCP) came to power five years ago when they defeated the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) whose leader is Prof. ARUTHUR PETER MUTHAREKA, who is also the President of Malawi, the MCP party 5 years ago ousted the DPP from power through violent protests by the people, where they condemned the results of the then elections in 2020, where they said the votes were stolen.
came to overthrow those in power and then he led the MCP. We should remind you that the MCP is the party of the first president of Malawi, KAMUZU BANDA, who was accused of leading a dictatorship. When they campaigned, the MCP and other parties promised the population many things, including providing jobs to over a million youth and reducing the cost of fertilizer, especially since Malawi is a country based on agriculture.
The MCP, who also joined forces and came to power, were greeted by Covid-19, which quickly spread and killed many of those still in power, with some residents doubting the pandemic and accusing the authorities of killing those fighting for power and blaming Covid.
In the past 5 years, the country has been marked by a sharp increase in food prices, with fertilizer shortages and soaring prices, and a shortage of motor oil.
Another thing that has happened over the past 5 years of the MCP regime, which they have also collaborated with, is the imprisonment, looting and forcible return of foreigners in MALAWI cities. Women and children are being hunted down and brought outside, hunted down as criminals, subjected to acts of violence, looting and many other evils. This has had a serious impact on the economy of MALAWI because foreign investors are immediately concerned about investing in MALAWI. This has led to a shortage of foreign currency in the country and the value of the currency is rapidly decreasing to a high level.
Despite this, the MCP government, which they also co-led, still solved the problem of the fire, which was very serious. They also tried to complete the modern road projects that had been abandoned and replaced by them, especially in the capital, LILONGWE.
HOW IT WORKED NOW
Since the people voted on 16th of September 2025, the people are now waiting with great curiosity to hear the results of the elections from the electoral commission. The counting of votes that is being conducted in various areas but has not yet been announced and approved by the competent authority shows that the former president for the next five years, PETER MUTHAREKA, is leading with the most votes, followed by CYAKWERA, who is in power. If it were true as the initial votes indicate, it would be like what happened in America with President TRUMP, who led the United States and lost the elections and then won again.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR A REFUGEE
In a brief interview with the Step newspaper, one of the representatives of refugees in Malawi who spoke to the newspaper but wished to remain anonymous said: based on preliminary reports, we are seeing that there is a change in government for us as refugees. The law does not allow us to participate in politics. I would like to ask refugees to be more careful while the country that hosts us is in the midst of elections. I ask refugees to avoid being seen in political parties, avoid drunkenness and having problems with the public… When asked by the Step newspaper how ready they are to accept the change, he said: no one can lie to us as refugees, we have not done anything wrong to the current government. We are currently facing a case in the International Criminal Court and in local courts where we are accusing them of violating the rights of refugees to a very serious extent. Their disappearance would be a great pleasure for me, he said. They were robbed by the MCP government of countless things and money, they were deprived of their humanity, they were humiliated, some were kidnapped and betrayed by the Rwandan government. They were accused of fabricated crimes and taken to Rwanda,,,,
WHAT ABOUT SECURITY?
Many Malawians who spoke to the Step newspaper are concerned about security, saying that although the election results are not yet announced, the initial votes show that the ruling party is losing. They said that they would not accept it in public, saying that they are now starting to act like people who are talking in the media, which shows that the elections were not properly monitored and could be followed by violence.
In an attempt to find out what the security agencies have to say about this, Step Newspaper called the telephone line of the MALAWI Police Spokesperson, StepNewspaper called the police spokesperson’s number but was unable to reach him. Step Newspaper sent him an audio message on WhatsApp, but by the time this story was published, he had not been able to answer it.
The Step newspaper continues to follow this news.
Written by: Obed Ndahayo (son of a priest)