Election Recycling: Malawi Goes to the Polls in Rematch Vote
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Election Recycling: Malawi Goes to the Polls in Rematch Vote
MALAWI
On Sept. 16, Malawi’s voters will go to the polls to elect their new president.
It’s essentially a rerun of the country’s last election, in 2019-2020, with incumbent President Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) facing off against his predecessor, former President Arthur Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
This time, however, Malawians say they hope to get it right.
“President Lazarus Chakwera’s first term has fallen short on human rights, defined by broken promises in relation to the economy and living standards, impunity and civic space,” said Amnesty International’s regional director for East and Southern Africa, Tigere Chagutah.
In the last election, Chakwera challenged Mutharika in 2019 and initially lost. But the country’s top court annulled the decision, forcing a rematch that Chakwera won. At the time, the turnabout was hailed as an example of democracy’s triumph. The Economist tapped Malawi as 2020’s Country of the Year. Then US-President Joe Biden called Malawi a “democratic bright spot.” Foreign assistance followed. That promise has since fizzled, however.
“Economic turmoil, natural disasters, and the shock death of the nation’s vice-president,” followed Chakwera’s inauguration, the BBC wrote, referring to a terrible cyclone, horrible droughts, and the death of the late Saulos Chilima in a plane crash. Despite investigations that yielded no signs of foul play, many Malawians suspect Chilima died because he was especially popular among otherwise disaffected youth and therefore may have challenged Chakwera.
Other than Chakwera introducing train services after more than 30 years after their shutdown and commencing major road projects, many voters haven’t seen an improvement in their living conditions, government services, or job prospects, analysts say.
Instead, consumer prices have spiked, unemployment remains high, and corruption and nepotism continue to grow in one of the world’s poorest countries.
Malawians appear ready to turn back the clock in part because of their great disappointment with Chakwera’s administration, World Politics Review explained.
“The assumption among many observers was that the democratic triumph that brought Chakwera to office and the momentum it generated would create the political will to address corruption, governance, health care, and other challenges that have plagued Malawi since before its independence,” it wrote. “Five years later, however, most socioeconomic conditions and virtually all governance indicators in Malawi remain unchanged.”
“Chakwera has wasted Malawi’s democratic breakthrough,” it added.
Mutharika, who served from 2014 to 2020, faces some challenges, too. At 85, many Malawians fear he is too old and frail to oversee the gargantuan task of turning the country around. He failed, for instance, to show up for an event designed to instill confidence among voters about the transparency of the upcoming ballot, according to Malawi’s Nyasa Times.
Still, the country’s human rights activists hope that Malawi’s election will create an opportunity for a newly elected president and parliament to improve the country’s record on freedom of expression, association, and other civil liberties.
The Malawi Conference of Catholic Bishops agreed, exhorting voters to reject corrupt politicians who have failed to protect civil rights or enact economic reforms that might have helped one of the world’s poorest countries, reported Christian Daily, noting that Malawian politicians frequently raise money for religious institutions in exchange for political endorsements.
A Christian group called the Pastors’ Voice, meanwhile, is backing Mutharika, saying that he provided more stability and progress, added Malawi24.
Some say these elections are likely to be one of the most consequential in the country’s recent history. Others are just settling for the least bad option.
“President Lazarus Chakwera, who rose to power in 2020 as a symbol of hope… has since become a disappointment to many Malawians,” wrote South Africa’s Mail & Guardian newspaper. “Over the past few years, Chakwera’s government has increasingly followed the same troubling patterns of its predecessor, the DPP…of bad governance… This has left many Malawians feeling betrayed by a government they once believed would bring transformative change.”
At this point, the newspaper added, “Malawi electorate’s only option is to recycle a president.”
THE WORLD, BRIEFLY
Germany’s Far-Right AfD Wins Big In Local Elections, Piling Pressure on Ruling Coalition
GERMANY
Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) scored major gains in Sunday’s municipal elections in the country’s most populous state, even as Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives finished first in the polls, a result that analysts say underscores the far-right party’s growing popularity, the Associated Press reported Monday.
Final results released Monday showed Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) won 33.3 percent of the vote in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), a western state home to 18 million people.
The center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) – a coalition partner in Merz’s conservative-led administration – garnered around 22 percent.
Both parties saw a drop in support compared with the 2020 elections, particularly for the SPD, as NRW was long considered a party stronghold.
Meanwhile, the AfD came in third with 14.5 percent – up 9.4 points from the 2020 elections – with party co-leader Alice Weidel hailing the outcome as “a huge success.”
The results in NRW were the first test for Merz’s ruling coalition that formed a few months after Germany held early general elections in February. The CDU led that race, but the AfD finished second with 20.8 percent of the vote and became the largest opposition party.
Analysts explained that the AfD’s popularity surge is due to voter frustration over immigration, a stagnant economy, and the ongoing war in Ukraine. This surge has continued despite Germany’s domestic intelligence agency initially classifying the party as a right-wing extremist organization.
It later suspended the designation after the AfD challenged it in court.
Since taking office in May, Merz’s administration has tightened migration policies and sought to revive the economy but has drawn criticism for internal rifts. Political scientist Stefan Marschall noted that the far-right party “is in a position to organize the discontent” with the traditional mainstream parties.
Following the election outcome, Merz wrote on X that his CDU remained “clearly the strongest force” in NRW, adding that “solutions are not on the fringe, but in the center.”
The AfD’s rise reflects broader momentum for far-right movements across Europe, which are not only gaining electorally but also pressing legal battles against European institutions.
The Patriots for Europe, a bloc that includes France’s Marine Le Pen and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, is fighting rulings by the European Parliament and the European Union’s party oversight organization that cut it off from more than $4.7 million in funding over alleged misspending, Politico added.
In two lawsuits, the Patriots accuse Parliament of bias and discrimination, claiming that similar campaigns by other parties were reimbursed.
Last week, the European Court of Justice annulled a $55,000 sanction against the party, bolstering its case.
Patriots officials said they will pursue further claims and are preparing to fight fresh efforts by the Parliament’s Budgetary Control Committee to recover around $5 million linked to alleged irregularities by Identity and Democracy, a defunct far-right group.
PNG and Australia to Integrate Militaries in ‘Historic’ Defense Treaty
PAPUA NEW GUINEA / AUSTRALIA
Papua New Guinea and Australia are set to sign a defense deal this week, which would move to integrate the two militaries in an effort to counter China’s rising Pacific influence, Agence France-Presse reported.
Under the deal, PNG nationals will be able to serve in the Australian Defense Forces with the same pay as Australian personnel while starting the pathway to citizenship. Meanwhile, Australian nationals would be allowed to serve in the PNG Defense Forces.
PNG’s Defense Minister, Billy Joseph, underlined the deal’s importance for national security, adding that the safety of PNG means safety for Australia and vice versa. “We’re not talking about interoperability, we’re talking about totally integrated forces,” he told ABC Australia.
According to Joseph, the deal would contain a provision similar to NATO’s Article Four, which says that member countries must consult with other parties to the deal when they feel their territorial integrity, political independence, or security is threatened.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles called the deal “historic,” adding that Australia’s military had been open to foreign nationals from New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States since last year.
The agreement, which will be signed on Wednesday in the capital, Port Moresby, by the country’s Prime Minister James Marape and his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, as part of the celebrations marking 50 years of PNG’s independence from Australia, comes as Pacific countries’ concerns over China grow.
China invested billions of dollars in Pacific nations over the last decade, committing to projects such as hospitals, sports stadiums, and roads. This strategy has yielded some results, with countries like the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, and Nauru severing diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of China. Some islands, such as Kiribati, allow Chinese police to operate on their territory.
In response, Australia has boosted its involvement in the region. Marles told ABC Australia that Canberra long intended to focus on the Pacific and the deal with PNG, located less than 120 miles from Australia’s northernmost border, reflects this goal.
Last week, Albanese visited Vanuatu to review a deal aimed at deepening Australia’s links to the Pacific nation. However, the agreement fell through, with Vanuatu Prime Minister Jotham Napat raising concerns that the terms of the agreement would limit the country’s ability to access funds for “critical infrastructure” from other nations, namely China.
Turkish Court Postpones Opposition Leadership Case Amid Widespread Protests
TURKEY
A Turkish court Monday postponed its verdict in a case seeking to annul the main opposition party’s internal leadership election over alleged irregularities, a move that could bring back the party’s unpopular former leader and intensify political tensions in the country already rattled by anti-government protests, the Associated Press reported.
The court delayed the case challenging the legitimacy of the 38th congress of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) until Oct. 24. In 2023, the congress ousted long-time leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and elected current chairman Özgür Özel.
The case alleges electoral fraud, including vote buying and procedural violations. The CHP has denied all accusations, saying that the legal action is a politically motivated attempt by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government to use judicial pressure to weaken the opposition.
Erdoğan’s government insists Turkish courts are impartial and act without political interference, emphasizing that investigations into the CHP are solely focused on corruption.
Critics say that the case is part of a broader crackdown on the CHP – which gained significant ground in last year’s local elections – aimed at undermining the opposition ahead of the 2028 national elections, which could be held earlier depending on the court decision.
If the congress is annulled, the court could either place trustees in charge of the party or reinstate Kılıçdaroğlu as chairman: He has already indicated he would like to return. However, this move would likely further deepen internal divisions, as he is deeply unpopular among CHP supporters following a string of electoral defeats against Erdoğan.
On Sunday, at least 50,000 people protested in the capital, Ankara, against the court case, France 24 wrote.
Crowds called for Erdoğan’s resignation while waving Turkish flags and party banners. During the rally, Özel called the crackdown on the CHP a “judicial coup” and pledged to resist moves to weaken the party.
Earlier this month, a court ousted the CHP’s elected provincial leadership in Istanbul and appointed an interim chairman to oversee the local party branch.
Municipalities under the CHP’s control have faced waves of arrests this year. Hundreds of CHP members have been imprisoned pending trial as part of a widespread investigation into alleged corruption and terrorism.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu – considered a potential challenger to Erdoğan – has been among the main targets of the crackdown and is currently in pre-trial custody on corruption charges that he denies. His arrests in March triggered widespread protests.
DISCOVERIES
The Jurassic Iron Maiden
A new study found that even dinosaurs had their own version of a punk rock star sporting leather and spikey hair.
Paleontologists recently discovered the new fossil remains of an unusual ankylosaur with spikes all over its body.
Discovered near Morocco’s Atlas Mountains, the Spicomellus afer lived some 165 million years ago and was a member of the Ankylosaurs, a plant-eating, tank-like group related to stegosaurs.
Measuring around 13 feet long and weighing roughly two tons, the dino stood out from its contemporaries: It had plates and spikes all over its body, including spikes sprouting from its ribs – a feature not seen before in other vertebrates.
The S. afer also possessed a bony collar around its neck with spikes that could measure as much as three feet long – similar to a punk rock necklace.
“Seeing and studying the Spicomellus fossils for the first time was spine-tingling,” co-lead author Richard Butler explained in a statement. “We just couldn’t believe how weird it was and how unlike any other dinosaur, or indeed any other animal we know of, alive or extinct.
Butler and his colleagues remain puzzled about the purpose of the intricate armor, but suggested it could have been used to fend off predators and even attract mates.
“Spicomellus’ armor is totally impractical, and would have been a bit annoying in dense vegetation, for example,” lead author Susannah Maidment told CNN. “So we think that it is possible the animal evolved such elaborate armor for some sort of display, perhaps to do with mating.”
Later, ankylosaurs shed such flamboyant features, evolving simpler armor geared more toward survival as giant predators emerged in the Cretaceous.
The research team noted that the fossil makes the S. afer the oldest known ankylosaur and the first to be discovered on the African continent. It also overturns assumptions about ankylosaur evolution, showing key adaptations existed far earlier than thought.
For example, analysis of the remains found evidence that the giant lizard wielded a tail club, one of the ankylosaurs’ trademark weapons. This finding pushes the origin of such weapons back more than 30 million years earlier than previously thought.
“It turns much of what we thought we knew about ankylosaurs and their evolution on its head,” said Butler. “And (it) demonstrates just how much there still is to learn about dinosaurs.”