The Malawi Law Society (“the Society”) has a statutory mandate under section 64(d) of the Legal Education and Legal Practitioners Act “to protect matters of public interest touching, ancillary or incidental to law”. The Society makes this statement in relation to the conduct of candidates and political parties following the presidential, parliamentary and local government elections held on 16th September 2025.

1. The Society has noted with deep concern public statements by certain political parties and candidates prematurely declaring victory in the presidential, parliamentary and local government elections held on 16th September 2025. These declarations have been made through various mainstream and social media outlets.
2. The Society acknowledges that political parties and candidates may have their own collated or tallied results. However, the Malawi Electoral Commission (“the Commission”) is the only constitutional and statutory authority mandated to determine, declare, and publish the final results of all elections. Pursuant to section 98 of the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections Act, the Commission is lawfully accorded up to eight (8) days, fourteen (14) days, and twenty-one (21) days respectively to publish national results for the presidential, parliamentary and local government elections.
3. The Society reminds all political parties and candidates that under Clause 8 of the Code of Conduct for Electoral Campaign, 2025, every candidate and political party undertook to acknowledge the Commission’s authority and to refrain from actions that could interfere with its independence or impartiality. The Society therefore appeals to all political parties and candidates to desist from making statements amounting to declarations of victory based on unofficial results and to wait for the Commission to process, determine, and publish the results within the prescribed timeframes.
4. The Society joins the Commission in its call for all Malawians to respect the law and established process. The Society echoes the Commission’s appeal that:

   (a) Political leaders must refrain from stirring public pressure against the Commission to release results without due consideration of the legally prescribed process;

   (b) Political leaders must desist from making inflammatory statements that could create an unfavourable public orientation towards the Commission or incite public fear and discomfort; and

   (c) Without infringing upon freedoms of expression and the media, all leaders and media houses are strongly advised to refrain from providing a platform for utterances that could disturb public order, amount to insolence against the Commission, or imply definitive victory.

Issued this 17th day of September 2025.

Davis Mthakati Njobvu
CHAIRMAN

Francis Ekari M’mame
HONORARY SECRETARY