For more than a decade now, Malawi’s presidential elections have revolved around Arthur Peter Mutharika (APM) of the ruling DPP and Lazarus Chakwera of the opposition MCP.
Their rivalry has dominated newspaper headlines, radio programmes and social media, sometimes extending far beyond the newsroom to crowded markets, beer halls, minibuses and villages where voters meet daily to dissect politics and other national challenges and prescribe their own solutions very few folks in government seem willing to try.
Since emerging from their parties’ 2012 and 2013 conventions, respectively, both men have defined Malawi’s presidential politics. Still, the question is whether DPP and MCP can remain formidable political forces once APM and Chakwera eventually leave the political stage sooner or later. Are the parties institutions with enduring philosophies, structures and identities, or are they simply political vehicles built around two dominant personalities?
Remember Bakili Muluzi’s UDF and Joyce Banda’s People’s Party (PP)? They once packed stadiums and dominated the national conversation, but today, both struggle to command the influence they enjoyed when their founders or ‘famous leaders’ occupied the State House. That’s why the question of succession deserves greater attention within the DPP and MCP now. Too often, Malawian political parties elevate their leaders to near-sacred status, as though they were carved from stone and are immune to time. But no leader is permanent.
Yes, in the DPP, APM remains the central figure and his political journey has been remarkable. He first entered the State House in 2014, lost power in 2020 after the annulment of the presidential election by the Judiciary, only to return to national leadership last year. But even his party cannot negotiate with time forever. By 2030, he will have reached the constitutional limit of two presidential terms, and he will exit the political stage.
And for Chakwera, he has become the central figure around MCP’s modern political identity since becoming its leader in 2013. For some supporters, he represents a leader who transformed MCP from a long-standing opposition movement into a party capable of governing, but like DPP, MCP cannot rely indefinitely on the popularity of one individual.
In fact, Chakwera faces an equally important succession challenge, with debates already emerging over his future leadership under MCP’s current constitution unless its internal rules are amended. Whether that debate on him remaining president after losing the 2025 elections gathers momentum or not, the central question remains; can MCP remain united and electorally competitive beyond Chakwera?
So, leadership transition is not simply about filling the highest office in a party hierarchy. It is about identifying men and women who command public confidence, enjoy legitimacy within their own party and possess the ability to unite competing interests behind a common vision. On that score, neither the DPP nor the MCP is short of capable and experienced figures. The real question is whether the two parties are deliberately preparing them for leadership or merely waiting for time to decide on their behalf.
Unfortunately, the silence surrounding future leadership in DPP and MCP is striking. It may well reflect discipline, loyalty and respect for the current leadership. But it could equally betray an uncertainty over whether political ambition is welcomed or quietly discouraged in these parties. After all, both parties have witnessed internal wrangles in which individuals perceived to harbour leadership ambitions found themselves sidelined, suspended or pushed to the political margins. Whether justified or not, such experiences are enough to make many potential successors think twice before openly expressing their aspirations.
All the same, a wise village chief does not stop young men and women from learning to lead, but neither does he allow them to quarrel over the stool before it becomes vacant. One can only hope that, behind the scenes, both DPP and MCP are quietly identifying, mentoring and preparing the next generation of leaders without undermining the authority of APM and Chakwera.
When the winds of transition finally blow, DPP and MCP will be judged not by the shadows of their old giants or leaders of yesterday, but by the young hands strong and wise enough to carry the branches into the next season.
