Beyond ‘It’s our time to eat’: Rethinking political alliances in Malawi
Introduction: The Changing Nature of Malawi’s Politics
The era in which a single political party could comfortably dominate the political landscape is gradually coming to an end. Today’s electorate is increasingly fragmented along lines of geography, demographics, economic interest, political priority, and ethnic or regional identity.
Political competition has therefore become more complex, requiring broader cooperation among parties if they are to assemble national electoral majorities. Rather than viewing alliances as signs of political weakness or opportunism, parties should recognise them as strategic instruments for broadening national representation, promoting inclusive elections, and strengthening democratic competition.
Recognising the importance of political alliances is only the first step. Their success depends on clear structures, defined responsibilities and effective coordination. Parties entering a pre-election alliance should therefore establish practical governance arrangements that promote consultation, trust, accountability and collective decision-making. The following proposals outline key measures for strengthening an electoral alliance.
1.1 Parties entering a pre-election pact should establish a joint coordination committee with a clear mandate to report to party principals and their respective leadership structures. This committee should facilitate communication, consultation and engagement across all participating parties, ensuring that members and supporters understand the value of belonging to a united political bloc pursuing shared electoral objectives.
1.2 The pact should also form an alliance executive committee to carry out specific functions, preventing the main executive committee from operating merely as a “brainstorming” session.
1.3 Sub-committees established under the alliance framework should meet regularly between main executive committee meetings, allowing each to carry out its responsibilities, conduct analysis and prepare well-researched reports. At main committee meetings, sub-committee chairs should present their findings to support informed decision-making and coordinated alliance activity.
2.0 Understanding the Strategic Purpose of Political Alliances
Political alliances should never be viewed simply as electoral arrangements. At their best, they are strategic partnerships designed to address challenges individual parties may struggle to overcome alone. Well-structured alliances can:
consolidate fragmented votes to help win elections;
expand geographical, geopolitical and demographic support;
- pool financial, organisational, human and material resources;
- improve policy development through shared expertise;
- promote national unity by bringing together diverse political constituencies; and
- strengthen democratic competition by presenting credible alternatives to voters.
Viewed this way, alliances become vehicles for nation-building rather than mere campaign strategy.
3.0 Why Political Alliances Continue to Fail
The failure of many alliances cannot simply be attributed to personality clashes. The underlying causes are often institutional, involving weak structures, unclear roles and responsibilities, limited coordination mechanisms, and inadequate systems for sustaining cooperation over time.
3.1 Institutional weaknesses: Most alliances remain heavily dependent on party leaders rather than institutional structures. While individual parties possess constitutions, committees and established procedures, alliance structures are often temporary, underdeveloped and poorly institutionalised.
In Malawi, alliances have rarely existed at the level of actual party structures, meaning there is little genuine relationship between the parties involved.
3.2 Many alliances depend excessively on the goodwill of individual leaders. When relationships between leaders deteriorate, the alliance itself often collapses, since insufficient institutional safeguards exist. Worse still, most alliances are not supported by any legal framework, nor by a properly drafted Memorandum of Understanding.
3.3 Lack of shared vision: Some alliances are formed primarily to remove an incumbent government rather than to advance a common programme of governance. Once that immediate objective has passed, disagreements emerge because the partners never developed a shared long-term vision. Some parties enter alliances under the false notion that they will govern jointly afterwards.
4.0 Poor Governance Arrangements
Critical questions are frequently overlooked or postponed during alliance negotiations:
How will disagreements be resolved when they arise?
How will decisions be made?
Is the alliance one of equal partners?
What mechanisms will ensure accountability and transparency?
How will alliance partners communicate with one another?
How will alliance partners share government positions?
How will parties manage by-elections while in government?
How will junior alliance partners influence policy formulation?
Failure to answer these questions before elections often creates conflict afterwards.
4.1 Alliances may also fall prey to propaganda, where leaders are deliberately pitted against one another to prevent unity — sowing institutional disunity as some individuals serve the interests of either the governing party or an opposition party rather than the alliance itself.
5.0 Weak Communication
Alliance leaders frequently underestimate the importance of communicating with their own supporters. In the absence of clear information, rumours and misconceptions flourish, leading members to believe their parties have surrendered their identity or abandoned their principles.
6.0 Why Alliance Negotiations Often Break Down
Many alliance discussions begin with negotiations over the sharing of positions rather than the agreement of principles. Political actors naturally ask, “What positions shall we receive?” instead of “What national objectives can we achieve together?”
Successful alliances are built around shared values, shared ideological foundations, a shared national vision, and mutual trust. The distribution of positions and responsibilities should be a consequence of a strong partnership, not the primary reason for forming one.
The mindset of “it is our time to eat” should never define an alliance; rather, alliances should be driven by the desire to serve Malawians and achieve meaningful national transformation.
7.0 Distinguishing Electoral Alliances from Coalition Governments
One of the greatest misconceptions in Malawi’s political discourse is the belief that entering an alliance automatically means jointly governing the country. This deserves careful clarification.
An electoral alliance is fundamentally an agreement to cooperate during an election in pursuit of electoral success. A coalition government, by contrast, is an arrangement for governing after an election, usually involving agreed responsibilities within the Executive — which is run according to the constitution, not according to alliance membership.
These are distinct political arrangements, and failure to communicate this distinction to alliance members has generated unnecessary suspicion among party supporters, sometimes discouraging productive alliance discussions altogether. Greater civic and political education is needed so that supporters understand that pre-election cooperation does not automatically translate into shared governance afterwards.
Parties must also continue to grow independently to remain relevant within an alliance, since larger parties are always looking for well-organised partners.
7.1 The leadership of an electoral pact must develop the skills to manage internal contradictions, as well as those among the people they represent, so that differences do not undermine shared objectives — particularly the long-term goal of winning or retaining power. This requires leaders to build and interact with structures at regional, district and constituency level.
8.0 Political Trust as the Foundation of Successful Alliances
No legal agreement or MOU can substitute for genuine political trust. Trust develops gradually through:
- honouring commitments and agreements made;
- transparent and honest negotiations;
- consistency and integrity in leadership conduct;
- mutual respect between large and small parties;
- inclusive decision-making that gives all partners a meaningful voice;
- predictable and accountable decision-making processes;
- open communication and timely information-sharing;
- willingness to resolve disagreements through dialogue and agreed mechanisms;
- and recognition that each partner brings value and legitimacy to the alliance.
Where trust is absent or lost, even the most carefully drafted agreements eventually become ineffective.
9.0 Internal Democracy Before External Cooperation
Malawian political parties seeking successful alliances must first strengthen their own internal governance. Worth considering:
Do you have the resources to run a party?
Are leadership elections transparent?
Are members adequately consulted?
Are disagreements managed democratically?
Do party structures exist and function effectively beyond election periods?
Do you have committees at region, district, constituency, ward and area level?
Do you regularly conduct research to assess your party’s popularity?
Do you have a guaranteed political base of over one million voters?
Strong alliances are built by strong institutions, not merely strong personalities.
10.0 Leadership Succession and Institutional Continuity
Another major challenge facing political parties is inadequate succession planning. Too often, parties become identified almost exclusively with individual leaders. While charismatic leadership can mobilise support, long-term institutional sustainability depends on preparing future generations of leaders.
Malawian parties should invest deliberately in leadership development, political cadre-building, mentorship and transparent succession systems.
Strong institutions survive changes in leadership; weak institutions often do not.
The period leading up to 2030 is likely to be a watershed moment, as many leaders from the current political generation may no longer dominate the space. A new generation of leaders will inevitably emerge, whether parties are prepared for it or not.
11.0 Looking Towards the Future
Future political alliances in Malawi should aspire to be:
policy-driven rather than personality-driven;
institutionalised rather than centred on individuals;
long-term partnerships rather than temporary election-period arrangements;
transparent, accountable and based on genuine consultation, recognising that Malawians are increasingly aware of parties’ strategies and calculations; and
anchored in shared national priorities and a common vision for development.
Well-planned future alliances would contribute not only to electoral success but also to democratic maturity and political stability.
12.0 Learning from Malawi’s Political Alliance Experience
Malawi’s democratic journey offers important lessons on the opportunities and challenges of political alliances. While alliances have helped broaden political participation and, at times, facilitated peaceful transfers of power, some have struggled to endure beyond elections due to differing priorities, leadership disagreements and weak institutional arrangements.
Experience shows that political cooperation should not be built solely around winning elections or removing an incumbent government. Rather, alliances should be founded on shared principles, agreed policy priorities, and well-defined governance structures able to withstand political pressure.
Parties should view past experiences not as failures, but as lessons for building stronger, more sustainable partnerships that contribute to democratic consolidation.
13.0 The Way Forward
To strengthen alliance politics in Malawi, political parties should consider:
Beginning alliance discussions well before election periods, allowing time for consultation, trust-building and strategic planning.
Negotiating shared national policy priorities and development objectives before discussing the distribution of political positions.
Developing comprehensive written alliance agreements with clear governance structures, roles, responsibilities and decision-making processes.
Advocating for an appropriate legal framework to recognise and regulate political alliances, including mechanisms for accountability and dispute resolution.
Conducting continuous civic education to help Malawians understand the purpose, value and responsibilities of political alliances.
Institutionalising trust-building through regular engagement, dialogue and consultation among alliance partners.
Strengthening internal democracy within political parties to promote accountability, inclusiveness and effective leadership transitions.
Investing in structured leadership development, mentorship and succession planning.
Building alliances that can survive changes in individual leadership and are anchored in institutions rather than personalities.
Moving away from “big man” politics, where parties become centred around individuals or family networks rather than democratic institutions.
Ensuring political leadership is driven by the desire to serve Malawians and advance national interests, rather than personal benefit or access to power.
Recognising that those entrusted with leadership positions are servants of the people, not rulers seeking personal kingdoms or permanent control. Malawi deserves better leadership.
14.0 Conclusion
Political alliances are not signs of weakness; they are an increasingly essential feature of modern democratic politics. Their success, however, depends less on electoral arithmetic and more on institutional strength, political trust, principled leadership and a shared national vision.
If Malawi is to build stronger democratic institutions, political parties must move beyond personality-centred politics and embrace alliances founded on clear principles, mutual respect and long-term national interest.
It is hoped that the reflections in this opinion piece will contribute meaningfully to ongoing discussions about the future of political cooperation and democratic governance in Malawi.
— Humphrey C. Mvula
14 July 2026