Malawi Faces Uncertain Future as Presidential Election Results Awaited Amid Economic Challenges

Fri Oct 10 2025 11:37:51 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

With polling completed, Malawians are eager for the presidential election results, following a day marked by long queues and economic distress. Current President Lazarus Chakwera and his main rival, Peter Mutharika, promise economic reforms in a country grappling with inflation and shortages.

Malawi's presidential election has concluded, as voters await results amid significant economic hardships. Current President Lazarus Chakwera and former leader Peter Mutharika vie for the presidency in a race that may lead to a run-off if no candidate achieves a majority. Many Malawians expressed their frustrations about rising costs and job shortages prior to casting their votes, hoping for meaningful change.

Malawians are waiting to find out who their next president will be as polls have closed in most parts of the country, and counting has started.

Thousands of people queued outside polling stations on Tuesday to vote for a president, MPs, and local councillors, keenly hoping to effect change in a country swamped by economic troubles. Some are still voting in areas where polling started late.

In his campaign for a second term, current President Lazarus Chakwera pledged to fix Malawi's economy - as did his main rival, octogenarian former leader Peter Mutharika.

If no candidate wins more than half the votes, the top two contenders will head to a run-off.

There is anger in us. I want to change this government. I want young people to be in good jobs, Ettah Nyasulu, a 28-year-old waitress told the AFP press agency before heading out to vote.

Malawi has long been one of the poorest countries in the world, but recent times have been especially punishing. Food costs have been rising at more than 30% in the last year, and wages have not kept pace. The high inflation rate has partly been attributed to a shortage of foreign currency in the banks.

Rachel Chaguza, a 26-year-old university graduate who sells flowers, remarked, There is a lot happening, especially concerning about forex, unemployment. We must scrutinize what is going wrong and change things for the better.

The southern African country has also been crippled by nationwide power outages and fuel shortages. As people lined up to vote on Tuesday, frustrated motorists continued to form long, snaking queues for fuel outside petrol stations.

President Chakwera, who has promised to tackle these shortages, stood in line to vote with local residents at his home village, Malembo, which is about 56km (35 miles) northeast of the capital city Lilongwe.

The election is effectively a two-horse race between Chakwera and the man he beat in 2020, 85-year-old Mutharika. However, there are 15 other candidates, including another former president and the country's only female head of state, Joyce Banda.

Yourvotes will determine how the country navigates through its current economic crises, with the elections expected to yield significant results in policy directions.