7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, (and) I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing” – 2 Timothy 4:7-8
Malawi, O my Malawi! So much ado about a general election – president, vice president, parliamentarians, and councilors! While there were many upsets where old timers and big guns lost seats to new faces, and lesser known persons, one thing stood out very clear from start to finish of the vote counts of the September 16, 2025 elections. This was that Arthur Peter Mutharika and running mate, retired Supreme Court Justice and former MEC Chair, Dr. Jane Mayemu Mjojo Ansah, were ahead of the pack on the presidential ticket! By Tuesday (7 days in and still counting), Malawians waited with bated breath to hear the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) declare the obvious winner.
That done, MEC declaring the bleeding obvious, after the green light from the High Court ruling on MCP injunction (for MEC not to declare…), the great news of the “Comeback Dad” was made! His Excellency Arthur Peter Muthariaka is President-elect in the 2025 general elections.
I come here to make several requests to all Malawians, in my singular capacity as a patriotic, sober-minded, and culturally-sensitive Malawian. These requests are as follows:
- Very sincere and hearty Congratulations to President-elect Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika and to Vice President-elect RTD Justice Dr. Jane Ansah!
a. President-elect Professor Mutharika, this your fourth presidential contest (2014, 2019, 2020, and now 2025), you have clearly shown us (as our grandparents used to advise us) don’t count your chickens until they are hatched! All the naysayers have certainly been caught holding their breaths as District level Blue Wave after Blue Wave was being declared in the vote counting. Today, I am a proud Nenoite (of Neno District) seeing my home district gave Your Excellency a resounding 36,000 votes against 1,000 each for the two trailing contestants. There are other deep upsets, but I am humbled to see Neno agreed with the other giants. I join Malawians in praying for Your Excellency’s success.
b. Rt. Honorable, Vice President-elect, Justice Dr. Jane Ansah, Congratulations to your ascension into the Malawi political atmosphere! This is your first role in Malawi’s political space and we extend prayers as you wade through these areas.
c. My special plea to the Presidency (meaning the President, and the Vice President), the time has come for Malawian leaders to seize, stop, end campaigning, start leading, and managing the affairs of your leadership roles. These roles encompasse all Malawians: those that voted for you, those that did not vote for you, those that were too young, sick, or away/out of the country; in short all Malawians are to be embraced by your leadership. This is a plea for Malawi leaders to ditch the “wathu-wathu” syndrome.
- To other elected officials, in parliament and councils, as the President and the VP, please remember the campaign season is over. The time is ripe to start the work voters put you in the office you will hold for the next five years. As I did for the President and the Vice President, I join Malawians in praying for your respective successes.
- To my fellow Malawians please let us behave orderly and responsibly. The winning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) please win with grace; may you be the adults in the room remembering that being in the leadership role requires maturity and you will require the participation of all Malawians (which include members of other political parties). To the political parties that did not win the election, please lose nobly; know, remember, and accept the choice of Malawians. There is always (as in every working democracy) room for other political parties to work with the governing political party. This is the mark of mature politics. This is what democracy looks like: people from different political party affiliations working together, all for the good of our beautiful land of Malawi, a land of peace, development, and prosperity!
a. A Special Plea to my fellow Malawians: please accept the role of Vice President. Respect the role and work with the incumbent as you clearly work with the Principal of the Presidency, who is the President. It is high time, we bury the hatchet of only accepting and respecting the President. As a democracy, Malawi adopted the position of the Second-in-Command, being the Vice President; we must accept and respect the position of the Vice President as well as the person holding that position.
- To all registered voters, please always remember to turn up when elections are scheduled. Please do not just register, but make an effort to turn up to vote and let your vote count.
- To my fellow journalists, whether foreign and Malawi nationals, please continue doing your job. If you are like me, I know you have a love and a passion to turn almost every scene, event, or happening into an article. Let that passion continue to burn as you write to inform, advise, educate, warn, and even entertain fellow Malawians and others about Malawi. During elections it is in order to make projections. Label these as “unofficial results.” Malawians and indeed the world have a right to know how the counting is evolving. By all means make the projections…some are right and many are wrong. That is ok. That is democracy.
- To the official organizers of elections in the country, the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), it is about time to cut the umbilical cord to the governing powers, behave in an apolitical manner. If this seems a strange task, go to old tapes of elections of 1993 and 1994 when RTD Justice Anastasia Msosa was MEC Chair. Watch how she magnanimously handled our former invincible Life President. She was poised but definitely and clearly in control. I am here to say there has been no other grand presence of steel in the MEC Chair’s seat since Justice Msosa. O that MEC chairs were Life Chairs, RTD Justice Msosa would clearly get my vote!
- Lastly, I make this humble plea for all Malawi-loving Malawians and friends in and outside Malawi, please pray for and keep our beautiful country in your prayers. #PrayMalawiPray!
Long live our genuine democracy!
