Malawi
Located in southeastern Africa, the landlocked country of Malawi remained in the early twenty-first century one of the poorest in the world. In addition to constraints imposed by relatively limited endowments and high population density, Malawi has one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the world, with upwards of 15 percent of its 15 million people infected as of 2004. The country also faces the challenge of sustaining and deepening the democratic system of governance inaugurated in 1994.
The British formally took control of colonial "Nyasaland," as Malawi was then known, in 1891. Anticolonial agitation began in earnest in the mid- to late 1950s. During this period Hastings Kamuzu Banda (1898–1997), a wealthy doctor, returned to his native country to lead the struggle against British rule. Malawi became an independent country in 1964. Although the new country inherited a constitutional framework that imposed limits on government officeholders, Banda crafted an authoritarian regime ensuring his political dominance. By 1970 he was constitutionally named President-for-Life, the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) was the only political party, and all institutional checks on the president's power had been removed. A highly repressive political system developed in which dissent was ruthlessly suppressed, but stability endured until the early 1990s.
In the early 1990s Banda's authoritarian regime came under pressure for reform from both international and domestic actors. In the wake of calls for political change made by the Catholic Church in 1992, two internal groups, the United Democratic Front (UDF) and Alliance for Democracy (AFORD), surfaced and pushed for democratic reforms. In 1993 a referendum was passed that moved the country from a single- to multiparty system. In the 1994 election Bakili Muluzi (b. 1943) of the UDF assumed the presidency under a new constitution.
(MAP BY MARYLAND CARTOGRAPHICS/THE GALE GROUP)Under the 1994 constitution, power is divided between a popularly elected president and a legislature consisting of a National Assembly with members elected from single-member constituencies. Constitutional provisions for a senate were removed in 2001. Passage of legislation requires the cooperation of both branches of government. Although in practice most power lies in the hands of the president, since 1994 the governing party has at times lacked a clear majority in the Assembly. This has occasionally made it difficult for that party to pass legislation and, more important, garner the two-thirds legislative support needed for constitutional amendments. The constitution also provides for an independent judiciary. The president appoints judges to the Supreme Court on the recommendation of a Judicial Service Commission. The president can remove judges only on charges of incompetence or misbehavior and with the support of the legislature. As of 2004 the courts have displayed a willingness to exercise their authority independent of other powerbrokers.
Malawi's success as a democracy has been somewhat mixed. The country has undergone three multiparty elections, and in 2004 it witnessed the handover of power from Muluzi to his successor, Bingu wa Mutharika (b. 1934), also of the UDF. Civil groups are very active in national political issues, although their presence and impact at the grassroots level of society are more limited. Other important players include foreign donors who have at times been critical of government actions that appear to threaten the young democracy. These actions have raised real questions about the prospects of the long-term survival and deepening of democracy in Malawi. Efforts to amend the constitution to allow Muluzi to seek a third term in office in 2004 (which were ultimately unsuccessful) generated some political violence and the intimidation of government opponents. Further, losers in the last two elections have lodged challenges in court shortly after their defeats. Although this suggests some faith in judicial institutions, it also indicates that faith in the outcomes of balloting is limited.
Bibliography
Amended Constitution of the Republic of Malawi. Zomba, Malawi: Government Printing Office, 1995.
British Broadcasting Company. Malawi Leader Reveals AIDS Death. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/worl d/africa/3476887.stm>.
Von Doepp, Peter. "The Survival of Malawi's Enfeebled Democracy." Current History 100, no. 646 (2001):232–238.
Von Doepp, Peter. "Institutions, Resources and Elite Strategies: Making Sense of Malawi's Democratic Trajectory." In The Fate of Africa's Democratic Experiments: Elites and Institutions, eds. Leonardo Villalon and Peter Von Doepp. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2005.
Williams, T. David. Malawi: The Politics of Despair. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1978.
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