President Peter Mutharika faces protests from the opposition in Malawi. The May 21st elections left many in the Malawi Congress Party enraged and supporters have refused to acknowledge results. Mutharika has been president since 2014 and it seemed that his victory was predicted. Allegations of electoral fraud have been made. The electoral system is designed for the candidate with the most votes wins the presidency. Some have voiced their discontent with such a system saying that it is time for a change. Mutharika responded by saying that the opposition are attempting to instigate armed rebellion against his presidency. According to reports from SABC News, the MPs from the Malawi Congress Party voted against electoral reform. It seems that Africa needs a political system that is not based on a western model, rather one that based on the internal culture and politics of the continent. The pattern that keeps occurring is that of a longtime leader saying president for years or decades, while discord slowly grows. Opposition may get vexed at losses even when a candidate wins legitimately. Kenya was an example of this in which President Uhuru Kenyatta had to win a run off election and the opposition still vociferously rejected the results. The president for life model seems to be the image of the African leader. The opposition parties in various states have become so entrenched in political factionalism, that violence follows elections. There is no indication that President Peter Mutharika wants to be president for an extended period of time like Paul Kagame or Yoweri Musevini. Power transition seems to be the most difficult task for African democracies. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has so far made a relatively smooth transition to a post-Kabila era. Malawi has to find a procedure that can handle both public unrest, power transition, and enforcement of presidential term limits to have an effective government.
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