Electoral system for the president

Malawi Electoral Commission, Constitutional Provisions, found in Malawi Electoral Laws, accessed 22 October 2025

Article 80. Election of the President and the First Vice-President

(1) The President shall be elected in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution in such manner as may be prescribed by Act of Parliament and, save where this Constitution provides otherwise, the ballot in a Presidential election shall take place concurrently with the general election for members of the National Assembly as prescribed by section 67(1).

(2) The President shall be elected by a majority of more than fifty percent of the valid votes cast through direct, universal and equal suffrage and, where such majority is not obtained by any candidate in the first poll, a second poll shall be held within sixty days after the declaration of the result in which the candidates who obtained the highest votes cast in the first poll shall be the only candidates.