Elections

”MALAWI HAS SPOKEN” “IT’S A LANDSLIDE” Such were the headlines in the Malawi Papers on May 21, 2009 two days after the third multiparty elections in the nation’s history. The incumbent president, Dr. Bingu Wa Mutharika, was the decisive victor with a margin far greater than anyone could have predicted.

Democracy is still young and vulnerable in Malawi. Only 6% of the population has electricity, which among other things means that information through mass communication is available to only a minority. It seems that votes are often cast for the candidate who gives away the most fertilizer, pays for the most funerals, or hands out the most Tee shirts.

Nevertheless Malawi Democracy is a bright spot in Sub Saharan Africa. The elections were free, fair, and peaceful. While the opposition felt obligated to protest the results there seems little substance to their claims of vote rigging. In order to prevent people from voting more than once, voter’s index fingers are dipped into indelible ink at the polls, and voter registration cards are necessary. To be sure, there were glitches (like the ballot box at one polling station that was blown off the table, spilling it’s contents across the field). The polls open at 6:00 a.m. yet some folks showed up as early as 3:30 a.m. to get in line. Others waited until long after the 6:00 p.m. closing time to get their chance to cast a ballot. Most Malawians are rightly proud of the way the election was conducted.

The next five years will be a critical time. Will president Mutharika bow out gracefully after completing his second term in office? Will the ruling party use its majority to govern responsibly, continuing the battle against corruption and toward self-sufficiency? What will be the future of this impoverished nation, her people, her leaders, and her democratic institutions? It is ultimately Malawian resolve, not Western money, that will make the difference.