Low Voter Numbers Worry Expert After Leader's Death.
Many people in Malawi feel sad about voting. Samuel Lwara, who studies what happens in the country, tells us that only 7 million people signed up to vote. This number worries him because Malawi has more than 21 million people.
Things are hard for people in Malawi right now. Food and farming supplies cost a lot of money. A bag of fertilizer costs 145,000 Kwacha, and maize costs 85,000 Kwacha. Many people talk about these problems but don't sign up to vote.
A big reason people didn't want to vote was that Saulosi Chilima died in a plane crash on June 10, 2024. Many people wanted him to become Malawi's next president in September 2025. He was very popular and helped two other presidents win their elections before—Peter Mutharika in 2014 and Lazarus Chakwera in 2020.
The current president, Mr. Chakwera, didn't say anything when Mr. Chilima died, which upset many people. Mr. Lwara thinks the president should have said something nice about Mr. Chilima, who worked as his helper in the government.
Mr. Lwara believes people won't vote for President Chakwera next year. He says people feel upset about how the president acted when Mr. Chilima died. Mr. Chilima is buried in a place called Nsipe in Ntcheu, and many people miss him. They thought he would help make their country better.
Mr. Lwara feels very strongly about this. He thinks anyone who votes for President Chakwera next year must be a bad person. He believes these voters would be supporting what happened to Mr. Chilima.
Many people in Malawi feel sad about voting. Samuel Lwara, who studies what happens in the country, tells us that only 7 million people signed up to vote. This number worries him because Malawi has more than 21 million people.
Things are hard for people in Malawi right now. Food and farming supplies cost a lot of money. A bag of fertilizer costs 145,000 Kwacha, and maize costs 85,000 Kwacha. Many people talk about these problems but don't sign up to vote.
A big reason people didn't want to vote was that Saulosi Chilima died in a plane crash on June 10, 2024. Many people wanted him to become Malawi's next president in September 2025. He was very popular and helped two other presidents win their elections before—Peter Mutharika in 2014 and Lazarus Chakwera in 2020.
The current president, Mr. Chakwera, didn't say anything when Mr. Chilima died, which upset many people. Mr. Lwara thinks the president should have said something nice about Mr. Chilima, who worked as his helper in the government.
Mr. Lwara believes people won't vote for President Chakwera next year. He says people feel upset about how the president acted when Mr. Chilima died. Mr. Chilima is buried in a place called Nsipe in Ntcheu, and many people miss him. They thought he would help make their country better.
Mr. Lwara feels very strongly about this. He thinks anyone who votes for President Chakwera next year must be a bad person. He believes these voters would be supporting what happened to Mr. Chilima.
