# Mutharika returns to power in Malawi with landslide win over Chakwera
*Event date: 2025-09-24*
Peter Mutharika has won Malawi's presidential election in a landslide, giving the veteran politician a dramatic return to power. The BBC report says the final count put Mutharika on 57% and incumbent Lazarus Chakwera on 33%, with Chakwera acknowledging defeat before the official announcement. The result is a sharp reversal for a country that voted Mutharika out in 2020 and then handed Chakwera a reform mandate that has since run into economic trouble.
The vote appears to have turned on everyday hardship. Chakwera's presidency was marked by inflation, fuel shortages and frequent power cuts, and the BBC says voters seemed to conclude that life had been better under Mutharika. His administration had blamed the pandemic, drought, cyclones and wider global shocks, but the electorate was unconvinced. Inflation was near 30%, and the report paints a picture of a country where basic goods had become increasingly expensive.
Mutharika's comeback is notable for more than the margin. He is 85 years old, entered politics after his brother Bingu became president, and ran a relatively short campaign that leaned on nostalgia and the promise of stability. Supporters celebrated the result with song and dance, while the electoral commission said the poll had been handled smoothly and that complaints from Chakwera's party had been reviewed. That matters because the race had seen some allegations of anomalies during vote counting, but the commission said it had addressed them.
The BBC also says Mutharika inherits a severe economic crisis. There is a shortage of fuel and foreign currency, and the country remains one of the poorest in southern Africa. Chakwera's supporters pointed to some projects completed under his watch, including train service and road building, but those achievements were not enough to outweigh the everyday strain on households. Mutharika, who was president from 2014 to 2020, will now face the same test that battered his successor: whether he can bring prices down and keep the economy moving without losing public confidence again.
The result is therefore both a personal comeback and a reminder of how unforgiving Malawian politics can be. Voters have given Mutharika a second chance, but the same pressures that sank Chakwera are still in place.
Mutharika's first presidency is part of the reason the margin mattered so much. The BBC notes that inflation stayed below 10% during his earlier term, a stark contrast with the current rate above 30% and the broader squeeze on households that helped drive the comeback.
