Lead runner in the Malawi 2025 elections, Peter Mutharika. Image: Malawi Freedom Network.
(The Post News) – The preliminary 2025 election results released by Malawian local broadcasters on Tuesday show Peter Mutharika in the lead with 56%. The 85-year-old who had a second term snatched from him due to an annulment is now set for a comeback nearly 5 years later.
Who is Former Malawian President Peter Mutharika?
Peter Mutharika is the son of a schoolmaster and brother to former president Bingu wa Mutharika, who was in office from 2004 until he died in 2012. Although he was born in Thyolo, Malawi, Mutharika spent his adult years in the United States teaching international law as a Yale-trained lawyer.
He was eventually introduced to African politics by his older brother, entered the Malawian parliament in 2009, and within three years he found himself having to fill his brother’s boots and lead the Democratic Progressive Party after Bingu died.
Two years later he was made president in 2014, serving his first term filled with a lot of victories and a ton of errors and complaints. Economically, he stabilized the country, stabilizing the kwacha, lowering inflation, and helping get loans to build critical infrastructure like “roads, power plants, and universities.”
However, his presidency was also riddled with corruption allegations, frequent blackouts, food shortages, and protests over governance. Re-elected in 2019, his second term was cut short in 2020 when he was removed from office after irregularities were found.
Lazarus Chakwera was elected the new president; however, in his term, the country’s economy fell into crisis as poverty increased. According to Mail & Guardian, inflation has climbed past 30%, and Malawi’s currency—the kwacha—has depreciated by 44%.
Driven by previous guarantees, coupled with the need for economic security, Malawian citizens seem ready to welcome Mutharika back into power.
Please share your thoughts, contact Lukhona via email: journalist-lukhona@thepostnews.net
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