Malawian general election, 2004

Malawi

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Malawi

President Bingu wa Mutharika Vice President Joyce Banda Cabinet National Assembly Speaker Chimunthu Banda Political parties Elections: 2004, 2009 Regions Districts Foreign relations

Other countries · Atlas Politics portal view · talk · edit

General elections was held in Malawi on 20 May 2004 to elect a President and the National Assembly. The election had originally been scheduled for 18 May but was postponed for two days in response to opposition complaints of irregularities in the voter roll.^[1] By 22 May no results had been announced, leading to protests from the opposition and threats of disorder. On 25 May the Malawi Electoral Commission finally announced the results of the election. Bingu wa Mutharika, the candidate of the ruling United Democratic Front, was declared the winner of the presidential poll, whilst the Malawi Congress Party had won most seats in the National Assembly vote. Voter turnout was around 62%.^[2]

Candidates

There were five candidates for the presidential election;

• Gwanda Chakuamba, aged 69, was the candidate of a seven-party opposition coalition, the Mgwirizano Coalition or Unity Coalition. Chakuamba has a colourful past, having been a senior minister and militia commander under former President-for-life Hastings Banda. In 1980 he fell out with Banda, whose assassination he was accused of plotting. He spent 12 years in prison and emerged a popular hero, then succeeded Banda as leader of his party, the Malawi Congress Party.
• Justin Malewezi, Vice-President of Malawi under Bakili Muluzi, stood as the candidate of the People's Progressive Movement, having been passed over by the ruling party.
• Brown Mpinganjira, aged 55, was the candidate of the National Democratic Alliance, a breakaway group from the ruling party.
• John Tembo, aged 72, was the candidate of the Malawi Congress Party.
• Bingu wa Mutharika, a 70-year-old economist and veteran politician who was the candidate of the ruling United Democratic Front, although he had previously run for president under the United Party banner.He was supported by the outgoing president, Bakili Muluzi.

Results

Presidential election

Candidate	Party	Votes	%
Bingu wa Mutharika	United Democratic Front	1,119,738	35.9
John Tembo	Malawi Congress Party	846,457	27.1
Gwanda Chakuamba	Mgwirizano Coalition	802,386	25.7
Brown Mpinganjira	National Democratic Alliance	272,172	8.7
Justin Malewezi	People's Progressive Movement	78,892	2.5
Invalid/blank votes		86,218	-
Total		3,205,863	100
Source: EISA

National Assembly election

Party	Votes	%	Seats
Malawi Congress Party	785,671	24.85	57
United Democratic Front	801,200	25.34	49
Independents	766,137	24.23	40
Republican Party ¹	231,002	7.31	15
National Democratic Alliance	256,713	8.12	9
Alliance for Democracy	114,017	3.61	6
People's Progressive Movement ¹	98,548	3.12	6
Movement for Genuine Democratic Change ¹	53,127	1.68	3
People's Transformation Party ¹	21,153	0.67	1
Congress for National Unity	7,410	0.23	1
Others	26,609	0.84	0
Total	3,161,587	100	187
Source: EISA

¹ These parties formed the Mgwirizano Coalition, which also included the Malawi Forum for Unity and Development, the National Unity Party and the Malawi Democratic Party.

References

1. ^ Special report on general elections IRIN, 19 May 2004
2. ^ Malawi: 2004 Presidential election results EISA