Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has called on electoral stakeholders to start preparing for the 2030 General Election and draw lessons from last year’s election to sustain the gains and deliver another credible poll.
Speaking yesterday in Lilongwe when the electoral body engaged the clergy to review the September 16 2025 General Election, MEC chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja said that while the polls were largely successful, stakeholders must build on what worked and address the challenges that emerged.
“We had a successful election in 2025, but the real test comes in 2030—whether we are able to replicate the bar that we have reached and even go further beyond,” she said.
in 2030. | George Singini
Mtalimanja, a judge of the High Court of Malawi, called on stakeholders to continue initiatives aimed at promoting peace and unity, civic and voter education, women’s participation and constructive dialogue.
She also urged stakeholders to provide practical solutions to the challenges observed in the 2025 elections so that the country avoids repeating the same mistakes.
Mtalimanja expressed concern that despite the elections being successful, void votes were the highest ever recorded.
MEC data show that 155 225 ballots, representing 2.8 percent of the total votes cast, were declared null and void. This was higher than the 1.28 percent void votes recorded in the 2020 Fresh Presidential Election.
There were 7 203 390 registered voters during the election, but 5 502 982 cast their vote, representing a 76.4 percent turnout. MEC recorded 5 347 757 valid votes.
During the engagement, Mtalimanja hailed religious leaders for their role in promoting peace and unity during the elections, saying their prayers and other initiatives helped Malawians understand the importance of a peaceful electoral process.
Public Affairs Committee publicity secretary Gilford Matonga said that although the elections were successful, there were areas that could have been handled better, including civic education, technology, voter registration and electoral law amendments.
He lamented that misinformation around election management devices discouraged some people from registering and voting. He also said challenges in the registration process persisted, with MEC conducting a mop-up registration in some areas but people still were not motivated to register.
But Matonga commended MEC for holding the post-mortem early, saying it will help stakeholders to address issues in good time before the 2030 elections.
He conceded that religious leaders did not perform well in civic and voter education, saying this was largely left to the National Initiative for Civic Education.
Malawi held a peaceful general election on September 16 2025. President Lazarus Chakwera, who stood on the Malawi Congress Party ticket, conceded defeat and congratulated Democratic Progressive Party candidate Peter Mutharika, who made a comeback after a five-year break.
