Government & politics — Malawi
Government structure, legal system, citizenship, and international relations.
Profile updated 2026-06-02
⚡ Government & politics at a glance
Government structure, legal system, citizenship, and international relations. Key figure for Malawi: Republic of Malawi
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Identity & names
- Full Country Name
Republic of Malawi
- Country Name
Malawi
- Local - Long
Dziko la Malawi
- Local - Short
Malawi
- Former Name
British Central African Protectorate, Nyasaland Protectorate, Nyasaland
- Etymology- history of name
named for the East African Maravi Kingdom of the 16th century; the word "maravi" means "fire flames"
- Independence
6 July 1964 (from the UK)
- National Holiday
Independence Day, 6 July (1964); note - also called Republic Day since 6 July 1966
Political system
- Government Type
presidential republic
- Constitution
- history: previous 1953 (pre-independence), 1964, 1966; latest drafted January to May 1994, approved 16 May 1994,
- entered into force 18 May 1995 amendments: proposed by the National Assembly; passage of amendments affecting constitutional articles, including the sovereignty and territory of the state, fundamental constitutional principles, human rights, voting rights, and the judiciary, requires majority approval in a referendum and majority approval by the Assembly; passage of other amendments requires at least two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly; amended several times, last in 2017
- Legal System:
mixed legal system of English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Appeal
- Executive Branch:
- chief of state: President Lazarus CHAKWERA (since 28 June 2020); Vice President Saulos CHILIMA (since 3 February 2020); note - the president is
- both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Lazarus CHAKWERA (since 28 June 2020);
- Cabinet named by the president elections/appointments: president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last he
- ld on 23 June 2020 (next to be held in 2025) election results: 2020: Lazarus CHAKWERA elected president; Lazarus CHAKWERA (MCP) 59.3%, Peter Mutharika (DPP) 39.9%, other 0.8% 2014: Peter MUTHARIKA elected president; percent of vote - Peter MUTHARIKA (DPP) 36.4%, Lazarus CHAKWERA (MCP) 27.8%, Joyce BANDA (PP) 20.2%, Atupele MULUZI (UDF) 13.7%, other 1.9%
- Legislative Branch:
Description
unicameral National Assembly (193 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms)
Elections
last held on 21 May 2019 (next to be held in May 2024)
Election Results
- percent of vote by party - n/a
- seats by party - DPP 62, MCP 55, UDF 10, PP 5, other 5, independent 55, vacant 1;
Composition
men 161, women 32, percent of women 16.6%
- Judicial Branch:
- highest court(s): Supreme Court of Appeal (consists of the chief just
- ice and at least 3 judges) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly; other judges appointed by the president upon the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission, which regulates judicial officers;
- judges serve until age 65 subordinate courts: High Court; magistrate courts; Industrial Relations Court; district and city traditional or local courts
- Regions or States:
28 districts; Balaka, Blantyre, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Chitipa, Dedza, Dowa, Karonga, Kasungu, Likoma, Lilongwe, Machinga, Mangochi, Mchinji, Mulanje, Mwanza, Mzimba, Neno, Ntcheu, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Nsanje, Ntchisi, Phalombe, Rumphi, Salima, Thyolo, Zomba
- Political Parties and Leaders:
- Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [Peter MUTHARIKA]
- Malawi Congress Party or MCP [Lazarus CHAKWERA]
- People's Party or PP [Joyce BANDA]
- United Democratic Front or UDF United Transformation Movement or UTM [Saulos CHILIMA]
- Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
- Citizenship Criteria:
- no citizenship by descent only: at least one p
- no residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years
Capital & time
- Capital Name
Lilongwe
- Capital - geographic coordinate
13 58 S, 33 47 E
- Capital Time Difference
UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
International role
- International Organization Participation:
ACP, AfDB, AU, C, CD, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUSCO, NAM, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
- International Law Organization Participation:
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
- Diplomatic Representation from US:
chief of mission
Ambassador David YOUNG (since 5 May 2022) embassy: 16 Jomo Kenyatta Road, Lilongwe 3 mailing address: 2280 Lilongwe Place, Washington DC 20521-2280
telephone
[265] (0) 177-3166
FAX
[265] (0) 177-0471
Email address and website
- LilongweConsular@state.gov
- https://mw.usembassy.gov/
- Diplomatic Representation in the US:
chief of mission
Ambassador Esme Jynet CHOMBO (since 19 April 2022)
chancery
2408 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone
[1] (202) 721-0270
FAX
[1] (202) 721-0288
Email address and website
- info@malawiembassy-dc.org
- http://www.malawiembassy-dc.org/