Africa-Press – Malawi. September 18, Lilongwe, Mana: The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Electoral Observation Mission has voiced serious concern over the continued underrepresentation of women in Malawi’s political landscape, in its 2025 Tripartite Elections.
Speaking during the presentation of the Mission’s Preliminary Statement, Honourable Themba Nhlanganiso Masuku, former Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Eswatini and Head of Mission, highlighted the stark gender disparities that persist despite women making up the majority of registered voters.
According to the Mission, women constitute 57% of Malawi’s registered voters this year. Yet, they represent only 22% of the candidates contesting parliamentary seats and one woman out of 17 candidates for presidency.
“The proportion of women in elected offices remains very low and is a cause for serious concern. On a positive note, nine women were chosen as running mates to the presidential candidates.
“In the 2019–2025 Parliament, women held just 20.7% of seats. With the current election underway, the Mission is watching closely to see whether that figure will improve or stagnate,” said Masuku.
Amidst the concern, SEOM has commended Malawi’s efforts such as the reduced nomination fee for female parliamentary candidates of K1.2 million which is half of the K 2.5 million paid by their male counterparts.
The SADC Mission has further emphasized that Malawi’s progress must be measured against regional commitments which call for deliberate action to address gender imbalances in political participation, including the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development and the Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.
On her part, former Minister of Social Development of the Republic of South Africa and Head of the African Centre for Governance (ACG), Honourable Lindiwe Daphney Zulu, has noted that structural and sociocultural constraints continue to limit women’s access to nomination platforms, campaign financing, and party leadership roles.
She further recommended the Malawi Electoral Commission to adopt targeted special voting measures to ensure full participation of groups often excluded.
The SADC Electoral Observation Mission (SEOM) is a team deployed by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to monitor elections in its member states.
SEOM monitors elections to assess whether they are conducted in a free, fair, and credible manner, in line with the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.
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