Three months after the September 16 2025 General Election, six of the 229 constituencies remain unrepresented in Parliament due to various factors, denying constituents their constitutional right to be heard in the National Assembly.
Section 63(2b) of the Constitution provides that after a seat of a member of Parliament becomes vacant, any by-election to fill the vacancy shall be held in the next quarter of the calendar year “or if the circumstances do not so permit, then as expeditiously as possible, but a by-election shall not be held where a vacancy occurs within twelve months before the holding of a general election.”
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In an interview yesterday, Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) director of media and communications Sangwani Mwafulirwa said the electoral body was fully aware of legal provisions regarding holding of by-elections and filling of existing vacancies and will advise the nation in due course on the next step.
He said in a written response: “The commission will advise the nation when the by-elections will be held and this will be after all internal processes and engagements with relevant and key offices are done.”
MEC did not conduct parliamentary elections in Blantyre West following the death of one of the candidates while in Dedza Mtakataka and Nkhotakota Liwaladzi court cases blocked the electoral body from holding the elections while Rumphi Central Constituency became vacant following the appointment of the winning candidate Enoch Chihana of Alliance for Democracy as Second Vice-President.
Nsanje South Constituency is the latest to fall vacant after the High Court in Blantyre quashed a corrigendum that MEC used to declare the winner.
Democratic Progressive Party secured 77 seats while 71 seats went to independents and the immediate-past governing Malawi Congress Party won 53 seats. UTM Party won eight seats, United Democratic Front has five, People’s Party and Alliance for Democracy got three each while Freedom Party, National Democratic Party and People’s Development Party secured one seat each.
