By Brenda Kayo:
Office of the Registrar of Political Parties has revealed that two political parties, the governing Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), have collectively received K712 million in State funding from the Treasury for the past five years.
According to Registrar of Political Parties Kizito Tenthani, the two parties are entitled to State funding as they garnered a tenth of the national vote in parliamentary elections.
Tenthani disclosed this during a press briefing in Lilongwe on Monday, when he updated Malawians on the current status of the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties and its readiness to enforce provisions of the Political Parties Act.
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He revealed that between 2019 and 2024, MCP received K325.2 million in State funding while the DPP received K360.3 million.
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He, however, said while MCP had submitted its financial report to the office, DPP was yet to submit its financial report on State funding.
Furthermore, Tenthani said no political party has, so far, disclosed its sources of private funding to the office.
He said the office was engaging all parties to disclose their sources of funding and how they plan to finance their activities, particularly in preparation for the general elections scheduled for September 16, 2025.
The country is preparing for Local Government, Parliamentary and Presidential Elections.
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He said failure to disclose such information could see the political parties facing the long arm of the law.
“Should we know, and people prove, that the parties are getting public funding yet they have decided not to declare the funding, the parties will face the law,” Tenthani said.
The Political Parties Act, which was gazetted in May 2025, states that any political party is under obligation to declare sources of political funding to the office of the Registrar of Political Parties.
So far, according to the office of the Registrar of Political Parties, there are 24 political parties registered in the country.
