The campaign period, by its very nature, is meant to be a season of vibrant energy. A carnival of ideas and ambitions.
A time when political leaders lace up their boots, roll up their sleeves, and crisscross the country with conviction, charm, and promises of a better tomorrow.
It is a time when the air thickens with anticipation, when marketplaces and maize fields turn into forums of democracy, and when even the most remote corners of the land are touched by the hope of transformation.
On July 14 this year, the Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) blew the whistle, officially setting the wheels in motion for a 60-day campaign window, a democratic runway leading us toward the ballot on September 16.
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Today, as the sun rises on August 14, we find ourselves precisely halfway through this race. A moment of reflection, of reckoning, and of renewed vigor. Thirty days gone, 30 to go.
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With a crowded field of 17 presidential contenders, one might expect a whirlwind of debate and vision-casting.
But truth be told, the real contest, the political duel that is capturing the nation’s attention, pits the reigning torchbearer, President Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), against the seasoned former president, Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Riding closely behind them is Dalitso Kabambe of the UTM, whose energetic messaging on his so-called Third Economic Revolution is beginning to carve out a niche, however modest, in the national conversation.
From the onset, Chakwera appeared to understand the soul of the campaign period. As soon as Mec gave the green light, he was not found resting.
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Within days, he unfurled his campaign banner and manifesto in the political heart of Lilongwe, and from there, his momentum only surged.
Like a statesman on a mission, he charted a path from the sun-baked lowlands of Chikwawa in the Southern Region, to the bustling lakeside streets of Mangochi in the East, all the way to the misty hills of Mzimba in the North.
At every stop, Chakwera has faced the people, spoken plainly, and unraveled the promises woven into the MCP’s vision for the next five years.
Equally relentless has been Dalitso Kabambe, who has approached the campaign trail with a technocrat’s precision and a pilgrim’s devotion.
Day after day, he has been on the road, selling his blueprint for economic rejuvenation with a youthful urgency.
Whether in village meetings or town halls, Kabambe’s message has been consistent: a new era beckons—a revolution of economics, responsibility, and hope.
And then there is Peter Mutharika, a man whose silence is as loud as a thunderclap.
Apart from the ceremonial presentation of his nomination papers and a solitary appearance at Mjamba Freedom Park in Blantyre eleven days ago, the 85-year-old DPP leader has retreated into what can only be described as a political hibernation.
His campaign, at least in the public eye, has vanished like smoke on a windy hill. There is no trail of speeches, no photo ops with the common man, and no energetic engagements with the electorate.
Even the DPP’s own calendar of events offers little promise of his return to the spotlight anytime soon.
This conspicuous absence has cast a shadow over the campaign landscape. Social media timelines brim with stories of Chakwera’s trailblazing and Kabambe’s hustling, but are eerily silent on Mutharika.
The buzz that should surround a former president attempting a political comeback is replaced with a quiet void.
And so the question lingers in the minds of Malawians: How does Mutharika plan to win their hearts and votes with such an opaque strategy?
Democracy thrives on dialogue, not silence. Voters deserve to be courted, to be respected with clarity, to hear in full detail how a leader intends to rescue them from the rising tide of economic despair.
A manifesto is not a sealed scroll; it must be unrolled and explained with passion and purpose.
Is it pity Mutharika seeks? Or does he truly wish to return to the highest office with a compelling vision?
If he does, then he must rise. He must shake off the shadows and return to the road. He must walk through the villages of Lilongwe Rural, speak to the youth in Dowa, and engage the elders in Ntchisi.
He must remind Malawians, not with nostalgia but with substance, why he believes he is the better option for Malawi.
For in this season of promises and possibilities, silence is not golden. It is deafening.
