General elections were held in Malawi on 17 May 1994 to elect the President and National Assembly. They were the first multi-party elections in the country since prior to independence in 1964, and the first since the restoration of multi-party democracy the previous year. The Malawi Congress Party (MCP), which had governed the country since independence (from 1966 to 1993 as the sole legal party), was decisively beaten by the United Democratic Front (UDF).
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Presidential election | |||||||||||||||||||||
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All 177 seats in the National Assembly 89 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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MCP leader Hastings Banda, who had become president upon Malawi being proclaimed a republic in 1966 (he had served as Prime Minister from independence until 1966), ran in his first election since being stripped of his title of president for life in 1993. He was defeated by the UDF's Bakili Muluzi, who received 47% of the vote to Banda's 33%.[1]
The UDF became the largest party in the National Assembly, but was three seats short of a majority. The MCP finished a distant second, and was left with less than one-third of the seats in the enlarged National Assembly.
With the MCP's defeat beyond doubt, Banda conceded defeat two days after the polls closed and promised his "full support and cooperation" during the transition.[2] Reputedly in his mid-nineties, he would have been the oldest elected president in world history had he won.
The election completed Malawi's transition to full democracy.
Campaign edit
The National Assembly elections were contested by eight parties, who put forward a total of 600 candidates, as well as 13 independents. The UDF won 88 seats, three short of a majority, whilst the MCP finished second with 56 seats. Results in two seats, both won by Banda's MCP, were annulled due to irregularities.[1] Voter turnout was 79.6%.[3]
Results edit
President edit
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bakili Muluzi | United Democratic Front | 1,404,754 | 47.15 | |
| Hastings Banda | Malawi Congress Party | 996,353 | 33.44 | |
| Chakufwa Chihana | Alliance for Democracy | 562,862 | 18.89 | |
| Kamlepo Kalua | Malawi Democratic Party | 15,624 | 0.52 | |
| Total | 2,979,593 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 2,979,593 | 97.97 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 61,780 | 2.03 | ||
| Total votes | 3,041,373 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 3,775,256 | 80.56 | ||
| Source: African Elections Database | ||||
National Assembly edit
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
| United Democratic Front | 1,360,432 | 46.38 | 85 | New | |
| Malawi Congress Party | 988,172 | 33.69 | 56 | –85 | |
| Alliance for Democracy | 556,457 | 18.97 | 36 | New | |
| United Front for Multiparty Democracy | 9,721 | 0.33 | 0 | New | |
| Malawi Democratic Party | 6,980 | 0.24 | 0 | New | |
| Malawi National Democratic Party | 2,913 | 0.10 | 0 | New | |
| Congress for the Second Republic | 2,118 | 0.07 | 0 | New | |
| Malawi Democratic Union | 323 | 0.01 | 0 | New | |
| Independents | 6,159 | 0.21 | 0 | New | |
| Total | 2,933,275 | 100.00 | 177 | +26 | |
| Valid votes | 2,933,275 | 97.58 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 72,731 | 2.42 | |||
| Total votes | 3,006,006 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 3,775,256 | 79.62 | |||
| Source: MEC | |||||
Aftermath edit
Following the elections, on 25 May Muluzi formed a 25-member cabinet, including members of the Malawi National Democratic Party and the United Front for Multiparty Democracy. He left three posts unfilled in the hope that the Alliance for Democracy would also join the government.[1]
References edit
- ^ a b c Malawi: Parliamentary Chamber: National Assembly: Elections held in 1994 Inter-Parliamentary Union
- ^ Bill Keller (20 January 1994). "One of Africa's Last Dictators Bows to Democracy". The New York Times.
- ^ Dieter Nohlen, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thibaut (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p558 ISBN 0-19-829645-2