Malawi Government, political parties and civil society leaders say the country needs to draw lessons from the United States of America election that the process can be free, fair and credible by digitising democracy.
In the election, Republican candidate Donald Trump made history as that country’s first former president to return to the White House after beating incumbent Vice- President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, in both the popular vote and electoral college results.
British Broadcasting Corporation reported that Trump swept 51 percent of the votes against 47.4 percent for Harris, who was a late replacement for President Joe Biden.
Reacting to the outcome, representatives of the government, political parties and civil society said the US elections offer valuable insights that the country needs to learn ahead of the September 16 2025 General Elections.
In an interview, Minister of Information and Digitisation Moses Kunkuyu said one key lesson is that democracy can embrace digitisation.
He said: “One major lesson we can learn is that an economy and population as huge as the US can hold elections and be able to see a picture of the outcome within a short period from the voting day.
“This is how democracy embraces digitalisation as a tool for democracy entrenchment. African countries must learn from this and support digital transformation initiatives.”
In a separate interview, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesperson Shadric Namalomba said Trump’s victory has shown the world, and specifically Malawi, that there is much to be learned.
He said: “When leaders fail to prioritise the needs of their people, their attempts to hold onto power are ultimately futile.
“President Trump’s campaign centred on the promise of making America great again, mirrors our own campaign of bringing back proven leadership and improving conditions in Malawi.”
Namalomba said Trump has been re-elected because he is a trusted and experienced leader who can revive the economy and create jobs for the American people.
He said: “As the DPP, we also share the vision of a peaceful and stable world, and we are confident that Trump’s success will be mirrored here in Malawi.”
Namalomba said the former governing party has no doubt that, just like Trump, its presidential candidate Peter Mutharika will make a strong comeback and lead Malawi to a better and brighter future.
Malawi Congress Party secretary general Richard Chimwendo Banda said in a separate telephone interview that the key lesson is that elections can be held in a democratic manner and free from violence.
He said: “This is what many African countries, including Malawi, need to emulate that any elections can be held without violence, especially on voting day. At the end of the day, democracy should prevail.”
United Democratic Front spokesperson Dyson Jangia said the greatest lesson from the US elections is that a comeback in leadership of a country is possible.
“What is paramount is people’s trust in a particular leadership. The electorate looks for consistency, decisiveness and impactful policies,” he said.
But on their part, civil society leaders in separate inter v iews said the US election proves that elections can be free and fair.
Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency executive director Willy Kambwandira in an interview yesterday said one of the key lessons
is on credibility.
He said: “What we are learning from the American election is that elections should be fair, peaceful, transparent and inclusive so that everyone who is interested should participate in the election and in the end the citizens choose their preferred leader.”
Kambwandira said the other lesson is that there should not be boundaries during political campaigns to allow every political party campaign peacefully and freely.
In a written response, Human Rights Defenders Coalition chairperson Gift Trapence said the US election outcome shows a good example of how credible elections should be done transparently and free from violence.
He said: “Our political parties should learn from the US template on having campaigns based on ideology of political parties other than campaigns that are full of rhetoric and promoting political violence.”
According to BBC, of the seven crucial swing states, Trump won North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and was ahead in Michigan, Nevada and Arizona.
On the other hand , Republicans have also won a majority of seats in the Senate at 52 percent with democrats getting 42 percent.
Meanwhile, Harris spoke to Trump on the phone to concede defeat, according to BBC.
