At stake in this election:

• The office of the President of Malawi

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Joyce BANDA[1]
• Head of Government: President Joyce BANDA
• Assembly: Malawi has a unicameral National Assembly with 193 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by plurality vote to serve a 5-year term.

Election Notes:

• The last presidential election took place on May 19, 2009. President Bingu wa MUTHARIKA (DPP) was re-elected with 65.98% of the vote, with Joyce BANDA elected as MUTHARIKA’s vice-president. However, on December 12, 2010, BANDA and Khumbo KACHALI were fired as the vice presidents of the DPP over undefined ‘anti-party’ activities. However, MUTHARIKA was unable to remove BANDA as vice-president of Malawi. When President MUTHARIKA died on April 5, 2012, per the Constitutional succession orders, BANDA became the new President of Malawi, the first woman to hold the office. BANDA has declared her intent to run for another presidential term, and will face 11 other candidates in the May 20, 2014 election, including MUTHARIKA’s brother, Peter MUTHARIKA. The presidential election will occur alongside elections to the National Assembly and for local governments.

Main candidates in this presidential race:

• Joyce BANDA
  • Party: People’s Party (PP)[2]
• Peter MUTHARIKA
  • Party: Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
• Lazurus CHAKWERA
  • Party: Malawi Congress Party (MCP)
• Atupele MULUZI
  • Party: United Democratic Front (UDF)
• James NYONDO
  • Party: National Salvation Front (NASAF)
• Mark KATSONGA Phiri
  • Party: People’s Progressive Movement (PPM)
• Davis KATSONGA
  • Party: Chipani Cha Pfuko (CCP)
• George NNESA
  • Party: Tisintha Alliance (TA)
• Hellen SINGH
  • Party: United Independence Party (UIP)
• Kamuzu CHIBAMBO
  • Party: People’s Transformation Party (PETRA)
• Friday JUMBE
  • Party: Labour Party (LP)
• John CHISI[3]
  • Party: Umodzi Party (UP)

Population:

• Population: 16,695,253 (2014)
• Registered Voters: 7,537,548 (December 2013)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 8,365,620 (2014)

·         Is Malawi a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Malawi ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (12 March 1987)

·         Gender Quota: No, but there are political parties with voluntary gender quotas

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 32 (following the 2014 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 173 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Medium (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Malawi a signatory to CRPD: Yes (27 September 2007)

·         Has Malawi ratified CRPD: Yes (27 August 2009)

·         Population with a disability: 2,504,287 (est.)