Malawi’s 2025 general election race is heating up after two former presidents Peter Mutharika and Joyce Banda launched separate campaigns on Sunday to challenge incumbent President Lazarus Chakwera, amid mounting public discontent over soaring inflation and deepening economic hardship.
The election, scheduled for September 16, comes at a time of national crisis, with inflation nearing 30 percent and nearly 75% of Malawi’s 21 million citizens living in extreme poverty, according to World Bank data.
In a fiery address to thousands of supporters in the southern city of Blantyre, 85-year-old Peter Mutharika, leader of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), vowed to “rescue” the country from what he called political oppression and economic collapse.
“Today, Malawi is under oppression hunger, poverty, and fear of the very government meant to protect us,” said Mutharika, a retired law professor and Chakwera’s chief political rival.
Mutharika previously served as president from 2014 to 2020, but his re-election was annulled by Malawi’s Constitutional Court over widespread irregularities an unprecedented ruling that led to a court-ordered rerun won by Chakwera.
Opposition leaders, including Mutharika, have accused Chakwera’s Malawi Congress Party (MCP) of suppressing dissent.
Tensions flared in June after unidentified attackers disrupted a small protest demanding an independent audit of the voters’ roll and the resignation of electoral commission officials over alleged fraud.
The ruling party has denied involvement in the attacks.
Meanwhile, in the central town of Ntcheu, Joyce Banda, Malawi’s first female president, launched her comeback campaign under the People’s Party banner. Banda, 74, pledged to prioritize youth empowerment, job creation, and restoring public trust in government.
“If elected, my first task will be to fix the passport crisis, so our youth can seek employment abroad,” she told a crowd of supporters, promising to provide motorcycles to unemployed young people as a means of achieving financial independence.
Banda assumed the presidency in 2012 following the sudden death of then-president Bingu wa Mutharika, but left office in 2014 under the shadow of the infamous “Cashgate” corruption scandal. She spent four years in self-imposed exile before returning to Malawi.
At least two other candidates, including Vice President Saulos Chilima, have declared their intention to contest the presidency in 2025.
Chakwera, 70, who won 58 percent of the vote in the historic 2020 rerun, is expected to seek re-election despite growing unrest.
Malawi is currently grappling with its worst economic crisis in decades.
In June 2025, the National Statistics Office reported a 27.1% year-on-year inflation rate, fueled by currency devaluation, rising food prices, and declining investor confidence.
Mass protests earlier this year reflected the public’s frustration with the government’s handling of the crisis, with many demanding urgent reforms and relief measures.
As the election season intensifies, analysts say the battle for State House will likely hinge on economic credibility, governance track records, and each candidate’s ability to inspire hope in a nation struggling to regain its footing.
