President Chakwera of Malawi wins approval from his party to run for a second term

In the next election, Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera has the endorsement of his party to seek a second term. However, his prospects of holding onto power may be hampered by the Malawi Congress Party’s inability to form a solid coalition with another party.

Following the June aircraft accident death of former Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima, the United Transformation Movement said it would be leaving the electoral alliance, leaving the MCP without a strong ally. The MCP and the UTM had been in an electoral alliance since 2020.

The UTM’s leader, Chilima, assisted Chakwera in gaining an outright majority in the 2020 election. In Malawi, a presidential contender must receive more than 50% of the vote in order to be proclaimed the victor.

At an MCP convention endorsing his candidacy for a second term, Chakwera said delegates that he thought his party’s popularity had increased since the previous election.

In his speech late on Thursday, Chakwera stated, “This is not your typical convention because it is the convention of the party that will win in 2025.”

“We are growing in strength every day as more people from other parties join us, as the MCP’s founding families remain here and as those who left the party are returning.”

After 26 years in opposition, the MCP—founded by Hastings Kamuzu Banda, the nation’s first president—came back to power in 2020 on promises to combat corruption and expand the economy.

Opposition parties, however, contend that because the economy is still unstable, the MCP has fallen short of its pledges.

Former President Peter Mutharika is the front-runner against Chakwera and is anticipated to receive the endorsement of the Democratic Progress Party conference later this month.