As the country’s city councils are set to swear-in the newly-elected councillors and also hold elections for mayors next week, civil society experts have urged sobriety in the interest of decentralisation.
Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development recently directed that the newly-elected councillors should be sworn-in within 14 days from October 28 2025.
In an interview on Thursday, Lilongwe City Council chief executive officer Macloud Kadammanja said the capital will hold both events on Tuesday next week, marking the first official city council sitting since the September 16 2025 General Election.
He said all logistical arrangements are in progress and councillors have been formally notified.
“Obviously, there are a number of people who have already shown interest to contest for the positions of mayor and deputy mayor, but we don’t have the actual names of the candidates,” said Kadammanja.
Mzuzu City Council spokesperson Macdonald Gondwe said the swearing-in, and election of the mayor will take place on Wednesday.
In separate interviews, Blantyre and Zomba city councils’ spokespersons Deborah Luka and Aubrey Moses, respectively, indicated that they will hold their ceremonies on Friday.
Elections for mayors are largely determined by the number of councillors political parties secured in the Local Government Election (LGE).
A quick analysis of the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) LGE results shows that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has higher representation in the cities of Blantyre, Zomba and Lilongwe while Malawi Congress Party (MCP) has higher representation in Mzuzu City.
Out of Blantyre City’s 30 wards, DPP secured 28 councillors while two won as independents. In Lilongwe City, out of 24 council seats, DPP party secured 13, followed by MCP’s 10 while one went to UTM.
In Zomba out of 10 council seats, DPP secured eight; one went to an independent candidate while in another ward the election was postponed due to the death of one of the candidates.
In Mzuzu, out of 15 council seats, MCP got four while DPP, UTM and independents got three each. Odya Zake Alibe Mlandu won one seat while the poll did not take place in one of the wards due to the death of one of the candidates.
In a communiqué dated October 28 2025, signed by Secretary for Local Government and Rural Development Reverend Moses Chimphepo, reminded all councils in the country that it is a requirement for council members to take the oath of office before they begin their work.
Reads the communiqué in part: “After the oath of office, councils should reconvene in the chamber or other appropriate venue to elect the council leadership. You are already aware of the procedure for electing the chairpersons/mayor and vice-chairpersons/deputy mayor.
“Each council has groups that represent marginalised interests such as vulnerabilities. Such interests ought to be represented in the councils.”
MEC conducted local government elections in 503 wards, translating to a total of 503 councillors.
The impending elections of mayors in the country’s cities have attracted various comments from civil society activists including Undule Mwakasungula, Michael Kaiyatsa and Mavuto Bamusi, who have all agreed on the importance of having councillors to drive the decentralisation agenda.
“This is time to remind everyone that councils are meant to serve the people, not political parties. Sadly, our politics has often taken over local government, and this has stopped many good leaders from bringing real development,” explained Mwakasungula.
He gave the example of Blantyre’s former mayor Counsel Noel Chalamanda who once won the seat on an independent ticket during the previous DPP regime, but his progressive agenda was thwarted by politics.
Warned Mwakasungula: “As new councillors start work, they should choose mayors who are honest, visionary, and committed to serving all people not just their political parties.”
On calls in some quarters that mayors should be eIected by residents, Mwakasungula said he agrees with the sentiments, “but this will mean changing our laws and some procedures”.
On his part, Kaiyatsa said the swearing-in of the councillors and subsequent election of mayors is a critical moment for strengthening local democracy and service delivery in Malawi.
“Decentralisation was meant to bring decision-making closer to the people so that councils truly reflect the development priorities of residents rather than the interests of political parties,” he said.
But Kaiyatsa lamented that, unfortunately, what the country has witnessed over the years is a steady erosion of the original intent of decentralisation.
“When councillors are pressured to vote along party lines rather than based on merit, capacity, and commitment to development, councils risk losing effective and visionary leaders who focus on city transformation rather than political alignment,” he said, stressing Malawi’s urban centres face enormous challenges, hence require leaders with technical understanding and political independence to drive change.
On the question of who should elect mayors, Kaiyatsa said the debate is legitimate and long overdue.
“When citizens directly elect their mayor, the officeholder becomes answerable to the electorate, not to political parties or councillor coalitions. That shift could fundamentally transform urban governance and return power to the people where it belongs,” he said.
Agreeing with sentiments of his counterparts, Bamusi said councillors are by nature of their functions, facilitators and catalysts of local development.
“They must, therefore, make solid comments to advancing the agenda for transformative politics, which is the basis for economic development,” Bamusi said.
He advised that the new cohort of councillors should balance politics with development as they will be central to implementing the K5 billion projects under the reformed Constituency Development Fund.
“Again, as they are sworn-in, councillors must embrace the inclusive wealth-creation agenda under Malawi 2063,” he said.
He added that Malawi needs to reform Local Government Act so that mayors can be elected directly during the LGE to ensure that the will of the people is respected by choosing pro-development mayors.
