Is Malawi an ‘African exception’?

The past 10 months have been momentous for Malawi. After a series of protests against what many have perceived as a flawed presidential election, on February 3 the constitutional court annulled the results of the May 2019 votedue to “serious irregularities” and ordered another election to be held within 150 days.

Peter Mutharika, the incumbent president, rejected the ruling, calling it a “serious miscarriage of justice”. There will be a hearing of an appeal case by the Supreme Court from April 15, but the fresh elections will go ahead, regardless of the outcome of the appeal case. Currently, no date has been set as Mutharika refuses to sign into law a new electoral bill which was prepared based on the court’s ruling.

Meanwhile, the parliament has ruled the members Malawi Electoral Commission, who oversaw the May 2019 vote, incompetent and recommended their dismissal.

The defiance of Malawi’s institutions and their insistence on protecting democratic procedure in the country have surprised many observers.

Amid growing dictatorial tendencies among countries in southern Africa and a continuing trend among African presidents to ignore constitutions and seek to abolish barriers to re-election, Malawi seems to stand out.

So has Malawi become an “African exception” as some observers have claimed? And what is behind its current political crisis?

A lot has been written about Malawi in the aftermath of the historic court ruling, including inevitable comparisons with other African countries. Indeed, Malawi’s case may seem unique, as the judiciary and the military have resisted executive pressure and handled the issues of public interest fairly. But for the Malawian context, it is not unprecedented.

Since Kamuzu Banda, the dictator who ruled Malawi for 30 years, accepted defeat in the 1994 general elections, the country has witnessed four transitions of power, including in 2012 when President Bingu wa Mutharika, Peter’s brother, died in office and his vice president, Joyce Banda, took over.

Malawi has also managed to overcome attempts by presidents to cling on to power against the rule of law. In 2002, President Bakili Muluzi tried to amend the constitution so he could run for a third term, but the parliament rejected his proposal.

Banda’s takeover of the presidency was also not smooth. A group of ruling party members, including Peter Mutharika, tried to block her from being sworn with the help of a number of lawyers and prosecutors, but the plot did not work.

In 2014, Banda herself tried to cancel an election after she lost to Mutharika, but her actions were deemed unconstitutional. After the High Court ordered the electoral commission to release the results, Banda conceded defeat.

Indeed, over the past quarter of a century, Malawian institutions have withstood quite a few attacks by the executive power. Members of the judiciary and the military have carried out their duties with professionalism and commitment to the constitutional order in the country, despite the threat of being dismissed by the presidency.

They have also protected each other. In the days running up to the court ruling on February 3, it was heavily armed military personnel that provided security for the five judges.

For these reasons, it is no surprise that the judiciary and the army have stood their ground over the past few months.

Likewise, the military has been protecting protesters during their demonstrations from the excesses of the police force, defying the common stereotype of African military crushing protesters and propping up unpopular leaders.

On March 18, Mutharika sacked and replaced the military commander, Vincent Nundwe, which may suggest that the president was not pleased with his decision to protect demonstrators.

But throughout the past two and a half decades, there were also moments when it seemed to some observers that Malawi’s democracy was on the verge collapse. In 2001, just five years after the first free elections in the country, the online outlet Malawi Digest declared the “demise of democracy” in the country, describing various transgressions by the Malawian parliament, including cancelling constitutional clauses without due processes and rejecting court rulings.

Ten years later, Amnesty International published a report titled Malawi’s Democracy Continues to Unravel. The document listed various violations by the Bingu wa Mutharika presidency, including the killing of protesters, restrictions of human rights and attacks on rights groups and activists. The report also mentioned the British ambassador being expelled for calling the president “autocratic”.

Today, the media is celebrating the country as an “African exception” and the court ruling as an “historic moment”. But the truth is, there is nothing extraordinary about what has been happening in Malawi given its recent past. And it is not the only African country where courts have defied the executive.

Furthermore, what Malawi’s experience demonstrates is that democratic development is far from a straight path. Therefore, trying to frame it within a pattern or exceptionalise it is futile. In other words, there is no such thing as “African model” or “African exception”. Each country in Africa, as well as the rest of the world, is walking its own path, influenced by local histories, socioeconomic realities and geopolitical dynamics. Africa is not a country, after all.

At this point, it is still not clear whether there is a reason for celebration in Malawi. The president continues to defy the court order, and the imminent COVID-19 outbreak will likely derail the process to prepare a new election.

Protests cannot continue as the presidency has declared a state of national disaster and banned all gatherings of more than 100 people, even though the country is yet to record any cases. Mutharika, who is 79 years old, was last seen in public on March 8 and now seems to have withdrawn from public appearances, possibly out of concern of his own health.

Before the outbreak, there was a strong feeling of a general clean-up and that Malawi was headed in the right direction. Hopefully, it will stay on track even after the epidemic passes.

NOTE This article was first published by AlJazeera

Malawi’s maturing democracy to be tested further by more protests

Since the results of the 2019 general elections were announced on 27 May, Malawi has been in suspense. Two presidential contestants are challenging the outcome in court, while hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets demanding the resignation of Malawi’s leading electoral official.

According to the announced results, President Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won a second term with 38.57%. Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) came a close second with 35.41% and former vice-president Saulos Chilima of the UTM came third with 20.24%. Both of the defeated candidates, however, allege that the vote was marred by fraud and that results sheets were altered using typewriter correction fluid. Chakwera says the denial his rightful victory was “daylight robbery”. The case is being heard in the constitutional court in the capital Lilongwe.

At the same time, an alliance of local human rights organisations under the Human Rights Defender Coalition (HRDC) is calling for Jane Ansah, the chair of the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), to resign. The civil society groups allege that the elections were mismanaged and have organised a series of mass protests, some of which Chakwera and Chilima have attended.

These demonstrations have been well-attended in several cities such as Blantyre and Mzuzu, but they have been particularly vibrant in Lilongwe. This could be because the capital is Chakwera’s home and lies in an MCP stronghold, and that the HRDC leadership is based here.

So far, the HRDC has received official permission for its demonstrations. Despite a common misconception and past attempts by governments to stop protests by refusing to issue permits, this is not strictly necessary as demonstrating is a constitutional right in Malawi. Nonetheless, the HRDC has successfully sought legal authorisation for their recent actions despite the efforts of the Attorney General.

Opponents of the protests have also tried to disrupt them in other ways. Ruling party cadres have attacked demonstrators on a number of occasions, while President Mutharika promised to crush the demonstrations in July. Earlier this week, the home of Timothy Mtambo, chair of the HRDC, was bombed.

The demonstrations have turned violent too at times with stores being looted and cars torched, particularly in Lilongwe and Mzuzu. The organisers regretted these actions but blamed people’s anger on authorities for trying to stop the protests. Some rioters also vandalised property belonging to ruling party politicians and engaged in opportunistic theft. The police have arrested over 100 people in connection with these crimes.

On past occasions, governments in Malawi have used the pretext of violence to prevent protests. However, even after the police publicly said they lack the capacity to manage the demonstrations, the courts insisted that people’s right to protest should be denied due to the incompetence of the authorities.

Where next for Malawi?

Malawi is in an uncertain and volatile situation, but there are positives to be drawn from the last few months. The fact that the judiciary has defended the constitution against the efforts of the ruling DPP bodes well for the country’s democracy. In doing so, the courts have displayed their independence and strength, while setting the record straight in asserting that citizens have the constitutional right to protest.

It is also promising to see how Malawians have turned out in huge numbers to express their frustrations and demand justice. Following demonstrations in 2011 in which over 20 people were killed, many people become afraid to take part in public marches. In fact, the recent protests are the first mass demonstrations since that fatal episode and the high turnout suggests many Malawians have overcome their fears.

This sends a strong message to authorities, not just now but in the future, that citizens will demand justice where they think it is lacking. The beneficiary of this is the country’s democracy. Democracies thrive on citizens’ participation on issues of public concern, which holds powers accountable and strengthens the mandate and credibility of a country’s leadership.

For now though, the protesters’ demands have not yet been heard and Ansah has refused to step down until the court issues its judgement. The demonstrators have therefore announced fresh protests from 26-30 August when they will occupy airports and shut down borders.

On Wednesday, President Mutharika spoke about the protests for the first time since saying he would crush them in July. He publicly ordered the Malawi Defence Force and police service to use “all the necessary force to ensure that the integrity of our borders is not compromised even for a single minute”.

“Invading borders is the greatest threat anyone can pose to our country,” he said. “I will therefore have no choice but to take all measures necessary to ensure and protect the sovereignty and integrity of our nation.”

Malawians, many of whom now argue openly about politics and are gripped to their radios for news, are currently highly polarised between sympathisers of the ruling and supporters of the opposition. This means that however the court rules and what unfolds next week, one side is unlikely to accept the outcome quietly. After this, the strength of Malawi’s institutions and democracy may be tested even further.