Towards Democratic Consolidation in Malawi

Eighteen years into a multi party democracy, the electoral process remains one of the most contentious issues in Malawi. The Malawi Electoral Commission, just like many electoral management bodies in emerging democracies, has routinely struggled to manage a credible electoral process. With a myriad of problems ranging from inadequate resources, inadequate trained personnel, to the never ending political engineering of the electoral process; a wish for a credible electoral process seems like a far cry. It is also clear that the legal framework on which the electoral management mechanism is based has serious flaws which allow for easy manipulation of the process. The need for an overhaul of the entire electoral is more imminent than it has ever been before.