Peter Mutharika has made a dramatic return to power in Malawi, with official results confirming his victory in last week’s presidential election. The 85-year-old former leader secured 57% of the vote, defeating President Lazarus Chakwera, who trailed with 33%.
Chakwera, 70, conceded before the final tally was announced, personally calling Mutharika to congratulate him on what he described as a “historic win.” It marks the fourth time the two men have faced off at the ballot box, and the second time Mutharika has unseated his rival.
Mutharika, a former law professor, first held the presidency between 2014 and 2020. He lost that seat to Chakwera in a landslide following the annulment of the controversial 2019 election, which the courts found had been tainted by widespread irregularities. Chakwera swept the rerun the following year, but five years on, Malawians have voted for change once again.
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Mutharika returns to office at a time when Malawi is facing one of its worst economic challenges in decades. Inflation hovers near 30%, fuel and foreign currency remain scarce, and basic goods are priced far out of reach for ordinary citizens. In Lilongwe, a frozen chicken now costs around $20, despite most households surviving on less than $2 a day.
The election was seen less as an endorsement of Mutharika than as a rebuke of Chakwera, whose presidency became synonymous with corruption scandals, rising living costs, and power outages. Although some of these challenges predate Chakwera, critics argue he failed to reverse the decline, while his supporters insist that drought, the Covid pandemic, and the war in Ukraine deepened Malawi’s fragile economy.
Mutharika’s message of “a return to proven leadership” resonated with the electorate. In his first term, he was credited with curbing inflation, and many voters now hope he can deliver similar results again.
While Chakwera crisscrossed the country with rallies, Mutharika was rarely seen in public, sparking rumours about his health and raising questions about whether he has the stamina to govern effectively at his age. Despite this low-profile approach, he ultimately convinced a frustrated electorate that his experience could steer Malawi back on course.
Chakwera acknowledged in his concession that he remained uneasy about “irregularities” and “anomalies” in the vote but said the outcome reflected the will of the people. “The anomalies do not necessarily mean that the election result projecting Professor Mutharika as the winner is not credible or a reflection of the will of the people,” he said.
His concession speech, the BBC reported, ignited jubilant celebrations across Lilongwe, where Mutharika’s supporters filled the streets with song and dance. Drivers honked their horns, music blared from vehicles, and crowds chanted “adadi”, father in Chichewa, in praise of the returning president.
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Mutharika will soon be sworn in for another term, with the inauguration required to take place within 30 days of the official results. The true test, however, will be whether he can restore stability to a struggling economy and reassure Malawians that his comeback is not only historic, but effective.
