Weeks after the Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) announced official results of the 2025 Parliamentary, stakeholders say the outcome “marked an important step forward for Malawi’s inclusive and transformative democracy”.
The results show that the number of women elected to parliament has grown from 40 in the last cohort to 48.
At 21 percent of the now 229 strong house, the new mark still falls short of the 50:50 targets but observers describe it as a steady progress in ensuring that women’s voices and leadership are part of shaping the country’s future.
The election has also seen experienced women leaders being re-elected while others such as Patricia Kaliati, Mary Maulidi Khembo, Emily Chinthu Banda and Glezelder Jeffrey bouncing back into the house after they lost their seats five years ago.
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But bouncing back to the national assembly was not easy, according to Jeffrey, who has retaken her Nkhotakota Chia (formerly Nkhotakota South) constituency.
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“It was never meant to be easy but with support from the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) chiefs and other stakeholders, I have managed to bounce bank to parliament,” Jeffrey said.
Policy Program Manager at charity Oxfam in Malawi Sarah Kambilinya says the 2025 Parliamentary Election results, mark an important step forward for Malawi’s inclusive democracy.
“Women have secured representation in districts such as Rumphi, Neno, Nkhotakota, and Nkhata Bay, reinforcing the presence of female leadership in areas where women have historically been underrepresented,” Kambirinya says.
Kambirinya also says the milestone demonstrates growing recognition of women’s leadership.
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According to Kambirinya, the results show more young people stepping forward into parliamentary roles saying this is a welcome sign of intergenerational leadership and recognition of the role of youth in shaping Malawi’s development.
“While Malawi has not yet reached the 50:50 goal for gender representation, these results show real and inclusive progress.
“The task ahead is to build on this momentum and support women and youth leaders to drive forward transformative policies that respond to the needs of Malawians,” Kambirinya says.
She then calls on political parties to maintain the energy by appointing women in leadership roles such as Speaker and Deputy Speaker to ensure women’s voices and leadership are represented at the highest levels.
Already, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has appointed women parliamentarians Patricia Wiskes and Martha Ngwira to the positions of chief whip and deputy chief whip respectively, the party’s Secretary General Peter Mukhito confirmed the development on Monday.
UTM on the other hand, announced it will support the candidature of its vice president for the north Catherine Mzumara who is expected to vie for the position of Deputy Speaker.
With support from the EU, Embassy of Iceland and Irish Aid, Oxfam and its local partners WOLREC and CCSS have been mentoring young women and creating spaces for women and the youth to actively engage in decision-making processes.
“The increase in both women and youth representation in Parliament is a sign that these collective efforts are bearing fruit, but we celebrate this progress while recognizing that more work lies ahead to achieve true gender balance and an inclusive, transformative democracy in Malawi,” Kambirinya says.
Meanwhile NGO Gender Coordination Network (NGO-GCN) Executive Director Maggie Kathewera Banda says the milestone is worthy celebrating because the political terrain in the run up to the election was not friendly for women.
Kathewera Banda also says it is worthy celebrating the progress Malawi has made on women empowerment considering that the current vice president (Jane Ansah) is female.
“Our expectation is that the president (Peter Mutharika) will follow the Gender Equality act in order to achieve 50-50 representation regarding cabinet appointments and boards of government enterprises,” Kathewera Banda says.
Following the local government election, Malawi now has 64 female councillors out of the 533 who had paid nominations fees to MEC.
Lilongwe stands out as one of the top-performing districts in Malawi having elected seven female Members of Parliament.
