Politics

Malawi has a multi-party system with over 40 registered political parties.The political process in Malawi is such that parties are voted into power. Parties participate in an electoral process. The parties with the most representation in the National Assembly are the People’s Party (PP), Malawi Congress Party (MCP), United Democratic Front (UDF), and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

President of Malawi

Under the country’s 1966, 1994 and 1995 constitutions, the President is executive head of state. The first President was elected by the National Assembly, but later presidents were elected in direct popular elections for a five-year term. In the event of a vacancy, the Vice-President becomes President.

Denotes Vice-President acting as President

?	President (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Tenure			Elected	Political affiliation (at time of appointment)
?	President (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Took office	Left office	Time in Office	Elected	Political affiliation (at time of appointment)
1	Hastings Banda (1899–1997) ^[1]		6 July 1966	24 May 1994	27 years,319 days			Malawi Congress Party
2	Bakili Muluzi (1942–)		24 May 1994	24 May 2004	10 years,3 days	1994 1999		United Democratic Front
3	Bingu wa Mutharika (1934–2012)		24 May 2004	5 April 2012 (died in office.)	7 years,316 days	2004		United Democratic Front
3	Bingu wa Mutharika (1934–2012)		24 May 2004	5 April 2012 (died in office.)	7 years,316 days	2009		Democratic Progressive Party ^[2]
4	Joyce Banda (1949–)		7 April 2012	31 May 2014	2 years,54 days	–		People’s Party
5	Peter Mutharika (1939–)		31 May 2014	Incumbent	4 years,103 days	2014		Democratic Progressive Party