Malawi goes to national polls in three years time but debate for change from the current first-past-the-post and adopts a 50 per cent plus one law to ensure that the winner of presidential elections enjoyed majority support is continuing to heighten as it gets closer with Zambia polls providing good lesson. Malawi’s interfaith organization, Public Affairs Committee (PAC) have recognised that 50 per cent plus one rule guarantees the leader acceptable, popular, majoritarian mandate. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) leader Peter Mutharika was declared the winner of Malawi’s May 20, 2014 presidential election after defeating Joyce Banda. Mutharika, the brother of former president Bingu wa Mutharika, took 36.4 percent of the votes cast, Lazarus Chakwera of MCP garnered 27.8 percent of the vote and Banda’s 20.2 percent.
President Muthartika got votes mainly from the Lomwe belt of southern Malawi while Chakwera polled more votes from the Chewa belt of central region.
Timothy Mtambo of Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) claiming the 50 plus one system would stop politicians from banking on tribal or regional votes but would crisscross the whole country instead canvassing for votes in their home base only.
Another rights activist Billy Mayaya claimed it was only Bakili Muluzi who had a 50 percent of the votes in 1994 at the dawn of multiparty but in the subsequent election years, the presidents have been winning a threshold of 30 percent making them literally tribal leaders.
Full Article: Malawi: Zambia Offers Malawi a Lesson to Adopt 50-Plus-1 Electoral System – ‘To Avoid Govt Elected By Minority’ – allAfrica.com.
