Malawi election chief calls for action on review findings,warns against complacency

The chairperson of the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), Annabel Mtalimanja, has called on electoral stakeholders to treat democracy as a continuous undertaking rather than a series of one-off events, warning that the quality of future elections will depend on the work done between now and polling day.

Ms Mtalimanja, a judge of the High Court of Malawi, made the remarks as the commission’s 2025 General Election Post-Election Review (PER) report identified a series of institutional, legal and operational challenges that will need to be addressed to maintain and strengthen public confidence in future elections.

She said the country needed to move away from an event-based understanding of elections, arguing instead that democracy requires sustained investment over time.

Preparations for the next general election, she suggested, effectively begin as soon as the previous one concludes.

According to the report, the September 2025 poll was broadly assessed as successful and peaceful by both citizens and international observers.

However, consultations held with stakeholders as part of the review identified continuing vulnerabilities in the country’s electoral environment and institutional arrangements.

Among the report’s recommendations are calls to reinforce the independence, institutional functioning and accountability of MEC; to strengthen the regulation of political parties; and to improve coordination between institutions involved in the electoral process.

The review also flagged a number of wider democratic challenges requiring attention, including declining electoral participation, rising campaign costs, the spread of misinformation, and the continued under-representation of women and persons with disabilities in elected office.

Stakeholders taking part in the review also pointed to a number of specific difficulties encountered during the 2025 election, including public distrust of MEC and the prevalence of hostile political narratives during the campaign period.

The findings come as the Malawi Electoral Commission held a formal post-election review in Lilongwe, during which it acknowledged both the gains made during the September 2025 poll and the weaknesses the process exposed.

The commission reiterated its commitment to an electoral-cycle approach to election management, meaning that preparations for the 2030 general election – including legal reform, voter registration, civic education, procurement and institutional strengthening – are already effectively under way, rather than being left until closer to polling day.