Inclusive Participation in Malawi’s 2025 Elections
Malawi’s 2025 national elections marked a promising step toward a more inclusive democracy. The elections saw increased participation from women, young people, and candidates with disabilities, whose engagement and successes were supported through a civil society-led Election Situation Room and targeted training academies.
Malawi held its national elections in September 2025, showing promising signs of greater political inclusion. Among the candidates were 331 women running for Parliament and 523 for local council positions. Additionally, 19 candidates with disabilities ran for parliamentary seats, while 59 stood for council positions.
In partnership with the African Union, we supported efforts to promote gender equality and inclusion through the Election Situation Room (ESR), a civil society-led, multi-stakeholder platform. The ESR monitored electoral violence, misinformation, and barriers affecting women, youth, and persons with disabilities, both as voters and as candidates, enabling the AU and its partners to respond swiftly with targeted support and advocacy.
Our collaboration also included training academies for women candidates monitored through the ESR. These academies equipped 204 sitting and aspiring women leaders with skills and knowledge ahead of the elections. Of the 48 women elected to Parliament, more than half were alumnae of these academies, clear evidence of meaningful progress in women’s political participation.
To further advance evidence-based policymaking, we supported the development of the 2025 Baseline Report on the political participation of women, youth, and persons with disabilities in Malawi. This collaboration also strengthened the African Union-COMESA Joint Election Observation Mission, providing technical support and ensuring that the gender and inclusion findings from the Baseline Report informed the Mission’s Preliminary Statement.
Full statement available here.