ANALYSIS | No, Enoch Chihana Is Not Yet Second Vice President

In recent days, I have noticed a growing narrative in political discussions and even in some commentaries referring to Hon. Enoch Chihana as the “Second Vice President elect.” Let me be clear: this is unconstitutional.

As it stands, Malawi has only two officials who can be rightfully called “President elect” and “Vice President elect”—Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika and Justice Jane Ansah. This is because, under Section 80(4) of the Constitution, the President and Vice President are elected concurrently during a general election.

Enoch Chihana, however, does not fall in that category. Section 80(5) of the Constitution provides that the position of Second Vice President is not an elected office but an appointed one. The law is explicit:

“Where the President considers it desirable in the national interest so to do, he or she may appoint a person to the office of Second Vice-President, and may do so upon taking his or her oath of office or at any time thereafter or upon a vacancy in the office of Second Vice-President.”

This means that Mutharika can only exercise the power to appoint a Second Vice President after he has been sworn in. Until then, the office does not exist, and Chihana cannot legally carry that title.

Therefore, Chihana remains simply Hon. Enoch Chihana until such a time that President-elect Mutharika takes his oath of office and makes a formal appointment.

The danger of prematurely conferring the title “Second Vice President elect” is that it misleads the public, misrepresents the Constitution, and undermines the legal processes that safeguard Malawi’s democratic order.

The truth is simple: Malawi has a President elect and a Vice President elect—nothing more, nothing less.