The queue to obtain fuel rather than the queue to vote is what is in the minds of many Malawians as Tuesday’s general elections approaches.
Prolonged fuel shortages, as well as regular power cuts, the rise in the cost of living, hunger, poverty, inequalities and unemployment of young people, add to tangible frustration here.
Candidates for the presidential, parliamentary and local council compete for votes in a context of cynicism on what could really change.
In a sign that the money is tight, the elections were somewhat silent compared to the past. This despite the presidential race considered as a revenge match between the holder, Lazarus Chakwera, and the man he beat in 2020, then president of the time, Peter Mutharika.
There are 15 other candidates.
But the usual colorful campaign carnival is missing. Free T-shirts generally distributed with abandonment to prepare the enthusiasm are more limited.
There are fewer giant billboards on the country’s main roads.
Back in the rowing petrol lines, the patience is thin, which sometimes led to fist fights.
Peter Mutharika (L) and Lazarus Chakwera (R) have been political rivals in the last decade [BBC / AFP via Getty Images]
Feeling the shortage of fuel became an electoral problem, Chakwera tried to tackle head -on.
In a television address, eight days before the polls opened, he recognized frustration and apologized. The president then turned his fire on allegedly corrupt officials whom he accused of deliberately sabotaged the petroleum market.
Like fuel, new job opportunities are also difficult to find.
To put food on the table, young men sell petrol and diesel using small plastic containers at five times the official price.
In the southern city of Mangochi, they refused to be interviewed, except to say, while they were walking away, that attacking desperate motorists was the only way to survive.
Food costs increasing more than 30% in the past year and wages do not follow the pace, things become more difficult to afford.
The high inflation rate was partly reduced to a shortage of foreign currency, which forced some importers to buy US dollars on the more expensive black market. The costs were then passed on to the consumer.
“When the young people voted next week, they should think about the” “” poverty crisis, Source: Monica Chinoko, Source Description: Malawian voter, Image: a whim of a Malawian voter caught on the side of the road. She has short hair and wears a pink t-shirt.
The effect of economic problems on young people could be particularly significant in this election – because approximately half of the registered voters are under 35 years old.
And yet the two main presidential candidates are considerably older. Chakwera is 70 years old and Mutharika is 85 years old.
“When the young people voted next week, they should think about the poverty crisis. The next president should repair the employment rate because many young people are unemployed,” said Monica Chinoko, 33, who works in the capital, Lilongwe.
Many younger voters have told BBC that these continuous problems had attenuated enthusiasm for the elections.
“Looking at the candidates – it’s really a difficult choice to make because hope was lost. We voted and voted, but things have not improved,” said Ashley Phiri, 35. “But I hope this time, the next leader will radically transform Malawi.”
The supporters of the opposition candidate Peter Mutharika maintain that things were better when he was at State House [BBC]
The Mutharika electoral convoy made several stops in the villages along the Bakili Muluzi road.
In one place, a supporter held a sign saying “back to the State House” and said that life was better when the former president was in office.
During a Mutharika rally in Machinga, an elderly woman wearing a colorful and Sarong scarf brandished a huge bucket and shouted “fertilizers”.
It underlined the crucial question for 80% of the population living in rural areas. Many of these people survive what they grow up on their small farms and earn money from what remains.
Chakwera had promised to reduce the cost of the contribution of vital agriculture – but the price took place in the opposite direction. It is now six times more than in 2019.
The president “accused some opposition parties of working with private merchants to distort fertilizer prices,” said his office. He has promised to the small farmers of farmers that the price will return as part of a targeted program which should start next month.
The supporters of Lazarus Chakwera are convinced that he will be re -elected [BBC]
Chakwera experienced five difficult years at the helm but remains optimistic.
He says that he is investing in the future of the country and as a title policy, he promised that the State will deposit 500,000 kwacha from Malawi ($ 290; £ 210) in individual accounts for each child born after the general elections. They will be able to access it once they reach 18 years.
Another former president, Joyce Banda – the only head of state in the country – also takes place. It is committed to fighting corruption, transforming the economy and improving rural infrastructure.
The other presidential candidates, including Aupele Muluzi, Dalitso Kabambe and the current vice-president Michael Usi, have all promised a radical change in one of the poorest countries in the world.
There is no shortage of choice on the ballot, but the Malawians hope that anyone who will emerge as a winner – after Tuesday’s vote or a possible second round – can put more food on the table and more fuel in the tank.
More BBC stories about Malawi:
[Getty Images/BBC]
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