Peter Mutharika has staged a political comeback, ousting incumbent President Lazarus Chakwera in a decisive election victory in Malawi. Unlike Chakwera, Mutharika’s campaign drew modest crowds, but secured a commanding margin, reflecting widespread frustration over five years of economic hardship.Peter Mutharika was born July 18, 1940, in Thyolo District in southern Malawi. He is a distinguished scholar of international economic law, international law and comparative constitutional law and has taught at universities in Africa, Europe and the United States. Mutharika advised his brother, President Bingu wa Mutharika, on foreign and domestic policy until his death in 2012. He later held cabinet posts before being elected Malawi’s fifth president in May 2014, serving until June 2020.Mutharika’s 2025 bid hinged on promises to deliver reforms aimed at stabilizing finances, strengthening institutions, and creating a stronger legal framework for decentralization.“Chakwera failed to manage the economy amid internal and external shocks, leading to high inflation. No government can survive such a situation because it affects general living standards,” said Kingsley Jassi, a business journalist with the Indian mass media conglomerate The Times Group.

Poverty on the rise

Jassi said poverty rose from 50.7% to about 77% over the past five years, while inflation surged from 9.9% to more than 30% annually. The Reserve Bank of Malawi reported a year-on-year inflation rate of 28.2% in August.Jassi attributed the economic collapse to overspending and food shortages. “When a government spends more than the economy generates, foreign reserves dwindle, the [Malawian] kwacha weakens, import costs rise, and inflation surges. Food insecurity has worsened because production policies were inadequate, limiting agricultural productivity,” he told DW.The publicity secretary of the Political Science Association of Malawi, Mavuto Bamusi, added that corruption and mismanagement, especially in medicine procurement and construction, further weakened Chakwera’s leadership. As Malawians look ahead, Bamusi said Mutharika must restore fiscal discipline, implement austerity measures, and cut unnecessary spending.

Citizens want decisive policies

Reverend Francis Mkandawire, general secretary of the Evangelical Association of Malawi, echoed these concerns, telling DW that citizens mainly demand economic relief. “People want decisive policies that ease the hardships of recent years. The election was about the economy, and if the new president fails to act, citizens will speak again,” he said.Ordinary Malawians, however, remain cautiously optimistic. Thokozani Banda, a Lilongwe mother of three, said: “This is not relief just because a new government is coming in. I want real change. I want the cost of living to stabilize. Life has been unbearable.”Anne Machesi, a small-scale trader in Lilongwe, added: “Promises are not enough. Running a small business is almost impossible with prices rising weekly. We need solutions that make food and basic goods affordable.”Political commentator Chimwemwe Tsitsi, a lecturer at Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS), noted: “Mutharika may lead in unofficial results, but a run-off is still possible. Regardless of who wins, economic challenges such as fuel scarcity, foreign currency shortages, and high inflation will persist for some time.” He said a leadership change may improve public perception, but tangible solutions are what Malawians truly need.During his campaign, Chakwera’s manifesto focused on five pillars: food security, job creation, wealth creation, governance reform, and improved public service delivery. In contrast, Mutharika promised reforms to enable financial sustainability, bridge capacity gaps, and support decentralization through a stronger legal framework.

Malawians call for change

For many, the election was a referendum on economic management. A cross-border businesswoman, who asked to remain anonymous, expressed frustration with doing business in Malawi, which influenced her vote for Mutharika. She said: “During the DPP [Democratic Progressive Party] era, we were able to do our business without foreign currency exchanges being a problem. We had no struggles traveling to South Africa on business trips.” Although the system wasn’t perfect, she said business was feasible. The DPP era in Malawi refers to the period when the Democratic Progressive Party, led by Bingu wa Mutharika and later Peter Mutharika, governed the country from 2004 to 2012 and 2014 to 2020, shaping economic and political policies.She emphasized that her decision was driven by the desire for economic stability and the ability to conduct cross-border trade without difficulties.Mutharika’s victory signals not only a political comeback, but also the high expectations of a population desperate for relief from economic turmoil. The challenge ahead will involve transforming promises into action and stabilizing the economy to restore hope and livelihoods for everyday Malawians.