Malawi’s most consequential election in the multiparty era is fast approaching.
However, voters are witnessing a tale of two campaigns approaches.
On one end presidential candidates are braving the roads, markets, and holding rallies, pounding the pavement and presenting their manifestos to Malawians.
On the other, if you can even call it a campaign, the candidate is nowhere to be seen, literary missing from the scene with the entire party machinery appears to have gone into hiding, hoping the election will somehow win itself through Facebook rants, conspiracy theories, and a pre-written press statement alleging rigging.
At the heart of this political comedy stands Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Arthur Peter Mutharika, a man who last addressed the nation during a half-hearted, breathless campaign launch at Njamba on Sunday, August 3. Earlier that same day, he missed his own manifesto launch at Mount Soche.
His official Facebook page has not been updated since July 30, when it posted about his submission of nomination papers to the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC). Since then, Malawians have been left to wonder: Is APM still in the race, or has he retreated to watch the campaign unfold like a telenovela from his recliner?
In a race where President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera is energetically traversing the country and Dr. Dalitso Kabambe is throwing himself into the deep end with rallies, interviews, and meet-the-people tours, DPP’s Peter Mutharika is, well, missing. Not figuratively. Literally.
No rallies. No addresses. No engagements. Not even a motivational quote or campaign video clip on Facebook.
The only campaign trail where the DPP seems to be active is the comment section of Facebook, where party sympathisers and paid social media agents unleash tirades against Chakwera, Kabambe, MEC, and anyone else who points out the obvious truth: this DPP campaign is a mess.
And to add more irony to this circus, it is the same DPP that keeps yelling about potential rigging, corruption at MEC, and plots to “steal the vote.”
One would think a party that insists the game is rigged would at least put in some effort to win over voters so that their eventual crying has even a shred of credibility. But no, DPP wants to do the bare minimum, then scream the loudest when defeat knocks on the door.
Let’s be blunt and brutally honest. Arthur Peter Mutharika is a ceremonial candidate. A ghost. A relic of the past paraded by the party not because he is fit to lead, but because no one else within DPP commands enough authority to hold the shaky ship together. Not Joseph Mwanamvekha. Not Bright Msaka. Not George Chaponda. And not even the kingmaker himself Norman “Pythius Hiwa” Chisale and the APM’s running mate Jane Ansah.
And that’s precisely why APM’s absence is so telling and so damning.
This is a man who can no longer pretend to be interested in leading. If he cannot appear at his own manifesto launch, what makes anyone think he has the strength to complete a five-year term in office? His handlers parade him like a statue, roll him out when they need a symbolic gesture, then hide him away like a museum piece.
Meanwhile, Sameer Suleman and Joseph Mwanamvekha are the only voices from the DPP tentatively holding rallies. The rest of the party hierarchy seems to be either infighting, sulking, or strategizing how to blame MEC when their inevitable defeat is confirmed.
No coordinated campaign. No media strategy. No spokesperson articulating the party’s position on policy issues. Just Facebook graphics, insults, and paranoid whispers about rigging.
Let’s talk about the DPP’s obsession with MEC for a moment.
Before the campaign period began, DPP functionaries and supporters targeted MEC with accusations of bias, incompetence, or outright criminality. The party claimed that MEC is “not ready,” that the voter roll is “flawed,” and that they won’t accept “rigged results.”
Yet, they offer no evidence. And MEC is on record having said that with all the tantrums, it has not received any official complaint from any of the parties to suggest that the electoral process is off the required standards of preparations.
It’s all vibes, conjecture, and cowardly pretext for their own lack of preparedness.
The DPP has refused to launch a real campaign. They have no national outreach plan. No publicized itinerary. No clear message. They’re just hoping that when Chakwera wins, they’ll scream “thieves!” and hope to incite some street drama.
It’s a predictable, lazy, and dangerous script.
Let’s give the DPP the benefit of the doubt for a moment and ask: What is their campaign strategy?
Because from where most Malawians are standing, the DPP strategy looks like this:
Hide the candidate (because he’s too frail to campaign)
Skip the manifesto launch (because the candidate can’t articulate any policy)
Flood Facebook with edited videos of APM walking (to pretend he’s active and healthy);
Ignore rallies and constituency tours (because the party structure is in chaos)
Attack MEC, Chakwera, and Kabambe on social media (because that’s easier than engaging voters)
Lose the election
Cry “rigging!” and demand a rerun (the courts might come handy on this one).
If this is their strategy, it is laughably poor. In fact, one might argue that even if Chakwera and MCP do absolutely nothing, the DPP would still find a way to lose. That’s how bad things have become.
A familiar pattern is emerging, and it reeks of desperation. The DPP is laying the groundwork to reject the results not because of actual evidence of fraud, but because they have failed to mobilize, failed to lead, and failed to campaign. Their cry of “rigging” is pre-programmed, pre-written to save face when the loss becomes official.
This is political cowardice disguised as victimhood.
A party that has spent more time undermining the electoral body than engaging the electorate cannot then pretend to be a victim of injustice. A party whose candidate is more active in social media edits than on the campaign trail cannot demand credibility.
It would be a tragic joke, if it weren’t so dangerous.
Malawians are not fools. They can see who is working and who is playing. They can see who is engaging them on development, jobs, education, healthcare, and who is hiding behind old slogans and expired candidates.
They can see the difference between a campaign rooted in the future and one stuck in the past, waving old photos of Achina Bingu and praying for nostalgia to do what actual campaigning should be doing.
And because the writing is so clearly on the wall, DPP’s planned post-election tantrum is already doomed. The party has not earned the right to dispute the results. It hasn’t even attempted to win. Even diehard supporters are confused.
The question now is: What will the DPP actually do when they lose? Will they accept the verdict and rebuild? Or will they continue playing the victim, shouting rigging, and burning what little credibility they still have left?
Malawi deserves better. Not just from government but from the opposition too. APM’s ghost candidacy and DPP’s disorganized mess are not just embarrassing, they are disrespectful to voters. If you seek public office, show up. If you want power, earn it. Don’t hide, then shout “foul!” when the public rejects you.
As it stands, Chakwera is moving. Kabambe is fighting. But APM is nowhere. And when the ballot is counted, and the people speak, the DPP will find that you can’t win a race you refused to run, nor can you dispute results that you never even tried to influence by genuine effort.
So again we ask: Where is APM?
Where is the DPP campaign?
Where is the DPP leadership?
Where is the DPP courage?
Because all we see is fear, failure, and Facebook posts.
