Malawi: President, 23 June 2020

At Stake in this Election:

• The office of the President of Malawi

Government Structure:

• Chief of State: President Lazarus CHAKWERA (since 28 June 2020)
• Head of Government: President Lazarus CHAKWERA (since 28 June 2020)
• Assembly: Malawi has a unicameral National Assembly with 193 seats. Assembly members are elected in single-seat constituencies for five-year terms.

Electoral System:

• The President is elected by plurality vote to serve a 5-year term[1].

Main candidates in this Election:

• Peter MUTHARIKA
  • Party: Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
• Lazarus CHAKWERA
  • Party: Malawi Congress Party (MCP)
• Peter KUWANI
  • Mbakuwaku Movement for Development (MMD)

Population and Registered Voters:

• Population: 21,196,629 (July 2020 est.) [2]
• Registered Voters: 6,859,570 (2020) [3]

Gender Data:

• Female Population: 10,704,147 (2020 est.) [4]
• Is Malawi a signatory to CEDAW: No
• Has Malawi ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (12 March 1987) [5]
• Gender Quota: No [6]
• Female candidates in this election: No
• Number of Female Parliamentarians: 44 (23%) (2019) [7]
• Human Development Index Position: 172 (2018) [8]
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: High (2019) [9]

Disability Data:

• Is Malawi a signatory to CRPD: Yes (27 September 2007)
• Has Malawi ratified CRPD: Yes (27 August 2009)
• Population with a disability: 2,694,705 (est.) [10]