Front PagePolitical Index Feature

Malawi’s state of governance under microscope

In February 2020, the Constitutional Court nullified the 2019 Presidential Election and ordered a rerun, a decision  that was upheld by the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal three months later.

Legal scholars describe the continent’s second verdict of its kind as “monumental”. This was  the first time a presidential election challenge in the country was subjected to a full trial.

Major winner: Chakwera defeated Mutharika in the court-ordered poll

The ruling former president Peter Mutharika termed “a judicial coup” continues to ignite heated debates on the principles and practice of governance in Malawi.

Mutharika, who lost the repeat poll to opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera in June 2020, proclaimed that the ruling will make it impossible for the country to hold a presidential election everyone can trust.

But among scholars, the big questions are: What constitutes a credible election? How can the process and outcome of an election promote good governance? How can the electorate’s trust in the election process be enhanced? How can right-holders hold duty-bearers accountable?

These questions come under scrutiny in a new book authored by the country’s leading academics.

Beyond Impunity: New Directions for Governance in Malawi zooms in on a diversity of themes such as impunity, executive supremacy, governance and democracy, failure to institutionalise systems of governance and power of money in Malawi politics.

Governance expert Henry Chingaipe sets the tone in an overview of public finance management between 2010 and 2020.

He accuses cliques of elites he terms ‘roving bandits’ of mismanaging public funds through “the creation and operationalisation of a felonious State” in which they engage in criminal acts using the very same positions of trust they ought to use to protect and promote the public interest”.

Chingaipe, who is the director of the Institute for Policy Research and Social Empowerment, writes: “The illustrative cases of public finance mismanagement highlighted here indicate a collapsed and defective public finance management system.

“It is clear that during the decade, there were structural, institutional and agency factors that collectively presented pervasive incentives for public finance mismanagement.”

From the University of Malawi, political scientists Joseph Chunga and Happy Kayuni look at public trust in State organs in relation to State legitimacy and prospects for democracy.

The two authors argue that the success and failure of government policies and programmes largely depends on the trust respective public institutions enjoy.

From Afrobarometer opinion polls conducted from 1999 to 2019, they find that citizens have lost trust in elected leaders, leading to a decline in support and satisfaction with democracy.

“Data from 2003 to 2019 shows that there is a general rise in the number of people who think we should choose leaders through other methods than elections because elections produce bad results,” they write.

Concurring, Martin Mwale, Gowokani Chijere Chirwa and others say there is a clear link between citizen trust in the electoral body and willingness to pay taxes and participate in demonstrations.

They explore why electoral results worldwide are usually contentious despite international observers endorsing them as free and fair.

They report: “If people do not believe that the outcomes of the elections reflect their choice, they may protest through demonstrations.

“In cases where the protests do not yield a call for a re-run or fresh elections, the citizens may become unwilling to support the operations of the new government. One of the ways to show dissatisfaction with a seemingly illegitimate government is unwillingness to pay taxes.”

In his entry, legal expert Garton Kamchedzera focuses on the historic rulings of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court.

The professor of law at the University of Malawi finds that the presidential election case reveals a contest between impunity and constitutional legality.

Impunity associated with mediocrity undermines rule of law, he argues.

His counterpart, Edge Kanyongolo looks at election-related violence: gaps in definition of election violence and selective law enforcement.

His article examines the legal responses to electoral violence and democratic governance in the country, with a focus on the 2019 and 2020 presidential elections.

Anthony Malunga and others analyse the role of women leaders in challenging violence against women whereas Ernest Thindwa weighs in on the significance of first-past-the-post and the notion of majority of the electorate.

In an interview, Mzuzu University deputy vice-chancellor Professor Wapulumuka Mulwafu, co-editor of the book, said the book was conceived following the nullification of the 2019 Presidential Election to address some of the challenges that emerged during the period.

He said: “Neglect of principles and practices of good governance results in tensions and conflicts with citizens.

“For example, from the 1990s, we saw there has been a disregard for the law. The idea of impunity is an enduring concern reflected in so many examples, including the Third Term Bill where leaders wanted to change the law to suit their interests.”

Mulwafu said consolidating democracy in the country has to be ongoing for mindset or attitude change.

Kenneth Ross, Professor of Theology at Zomba Theological College, co-edited the book.

He said the political volume is part of a series of publications dating back to the fight for democracy in 1992.

Ross said the other publications are Church, Law and Political Transition in Malawi 1992-94; and Democratisation in Malawi: A Stocktaking.

“These books offer analyses after each election. The new book comes following the constitutional and political crisis that came with the 2019 election,” he said.  

Church and Society Programme of the CCAP Synod of Livingstonia executive director Moses Mkandawire said impunity remains a big problem in Malawi despite the widely publicised belief that no one is above the law.

 “We need to start enforcing our laws to address impunity and State capture,” he said. “For instance, the law says let’s declare sources of political party funding, but no one is declaring. That’s why these businesspersons come and finance the parties, and end up capturing our State.”

Mkandawire said the book is an important tool for civil society to enlighten Malawians on the governance and socio-economic status of the country.

“This will help us in our advocacy work because politicians say one thing to the citizens yet the reality on the ground is different. The book presents good evidence to use in our engagement with the elected leaders,” he said.

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