MALAWI/FILE: POLITICS - Malawians are due to vote in an election in which 11 candidates are vying to unseat President Joyce Banda, who is relying on popularity with rural voters

Record ID: 694920

  • Title: MALAWI/FILE: POLITICS - Malawians are due to vote in an election in which 11 candidates are vying to unseat President Joyce Banda, who is relying on popularity with rural voters
  • Date: 20th May 2014
  • Summary: BLANTYRE, MALAWI (FILE - APRIL 12, 2014) ( REUTERS) **QUALITY AS INCOMING** VARIOUS OF MALAWI CONGRESS PARTY (MCP) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, LAZARUS CHAKWERA, WAVING TO SUPPORTERS DURING PRESENTATION OF NOMINATION PAPERS VARIOUS OF MCP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE AND HIS WIFE MEETING SUPPORTERS VARIOUS OF UNITED DEMOCRATIC FRONT (UDF) LEADER, ATUPELE MULUZI, CHEERING PARTY SUPPORTERS VARIOUS OF MULUZI WAVING AT PARTY SUPPORTERS MULUZI GREETING PARTY OFFICIALS MULUZI CHEERING PARTY SUPPORTERS/WHISPERING TO WIFE BLANTYRE, MALAWI ( MAY 17, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PROFESSOR PETER MUTHARIKA OF DEMOCRATIC PROGRESSIVE PARTY, DPP AT HIS FINAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN RALLY
  • Embargoed: 4th June 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Malawi
  • Country: Malawi
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA9TFLVJK5XAD0CI9537BFPPAV7
  • Story Text: Malawians vote on Tuesday (May 20) in an election in which 11 candidates are vying to unseat President Joyce Banda, Southern Africa's first female head of state, who came to power two years ago.
    The only two opinion polls published have had very different results, but most analysts rank Banda as favourite because of her popularity in rural areas where the government has been rolling out development projects and farm subsidy schemes.
    Farmers expect an eight percent rise in the maize harvest this year, giving the aid-dependent state a surplus of a million tonnes, while a devaluation of the kwacha currency has ended fuel shortages - although it also sent inflation soaring and dented Banda's popularity.
    In her first months in office, Banda enjoyed huge goodwill among the landlocked nation's 13 million people who grew to hate her predecessor Bingu wa Mutharika's autocratic style.
    But Banda, who grew up in a village in southern Malawi, saw her popularity wane after she imposed austerity measures including the kwacha devaluation to stabilise the economy.
    More recently, her reputation for probity has been hit by a $15 million corruption scandal, dubbed 'Cashgate' after the discovery of large amounts of money in the car of a senior government official, that has soured relations with donors.
    More than 80 people have been arrested and a former cabinet minister has been dismissed and put on trial for money laundering and attempted murder. Urban voters in particular have criticised Banda's response as ponderous and ineffectual.
    Banda's main challenge is from Lazarus Chakwera, a conservative evangelical pastor who retired from the church last year to take the helm of the Malawi Congress Party, the former British colony's first ruling party.
    Mutharika's younger brother Peter is also running as the head of the Democratic Progressive Party, as is Atupele Muluzi, a son of former president Bakili Muluzi.
    Allegations of vote-rigging plots have been rife although Banda has rejected them. Malawi-based diplomats say the problem does not appear to be as big as Banda's challengers make out.
    Church groups fear outbreaks of violence in the normally peaceful country if Banda wins, while opposition parties may continue to pursue claims of vote fraud.
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