Electoral system for the president

IFES, Elections in Malawi, 2019 General Elections Frequently Asked Questions, accessed 20 May 2019

“For the presidential election, Malawi uses the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system, in which a presidential candidate is declared winner if they receive the highest number of votes.

On May 21, 2019, Malawi’s next president will be directly elected concurrently with members of Parliament and local government councilors. This is provided for in Section 80 (2) of the Constitution and Section 96 (5) of the Parliamentary and Presidential Elections Act.

In mid-2018, the Malawi Law Commission endorsed the 50+1 system for electing the head of state and government. The commission’s endorsement came three months after the Special Law Commission’s review report of the Electoral Law. The report recommended drastic changes to how general elections would be handled. The recommendation was a sharp departure from the 1994 legal provision that established the FPTP process. The 50+1 system proposed that for electing presidents, a candidate must acquire 50 percent plus one of the total votes cast to be declared the winner. However, when the proposed change was debated in Parliament the bill was defeated. As such, the FPTP process remains valid for the upcoming 2019 general elections.”