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Malawi
Women in decision-making positions
15%
Members of local deliberative bodies are women (67 elected women)
No woman is Head of State/Government
21%
Parliamentarians are women
33%
Ministers are women

Government organization

Spheres of government

Malawi is a unitary republic with two spheres of government: central and local.

Diagram depicting the two spheres of government in Malawi: central government and 35 localities.

  • Head of State: The President is directly elected by voters.
  • Head of Government: The President is the Head of Government and the Head of State.
  • Legislative body: The National Assembly is a unicameral legislature whose members are directly elected by voters.
  • Executive body: The Cabinet consists of the President, the First Vice-President, the Second Vice-President, and ministers and deputy ministers appointed by the President.

  • Organization: Local government is organized into one tier of 35 localities, which is comprised of: 28 district-level local government units, four city-level local government units (Blantyre, Lilongwe, Mzuzu, and Zomba), one town-level local government unit (Mangochi), and two municipalities (Kasungu and Luchenza).
  • Competencies: Local government is responsible for making by-laws and standing orders, borrowing money, levying rates, and acquiring and disposing of land.
  • Ministerial oversight: Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development

Overview of local government

Local government composition

Deliberative body: The district/city/municipal/town assembly is composed of elected councilors and members of the National Assembly within the constituencies in the local government area as voting members, as well as traditional leaders and five members appointed to represent special interests (vulnerable or voiceless people such as women; the youth; people with disabilities; people living with HIV and AIDS; the elderly) as non-voting members. A chairperson (in districts and towns) or mayor (in cities and municipalities) is elected by and from the council to preside over it; the chairperson/mayor is not vested with executive powers. As ex-officio members of the council, members of the National Assembly, traditional leaders and representatives of interest groups cannot be elected as chairperson/mayor or deputies.

Executive body: The chief executive officer (in cities, municipalities, and towns) or the district commissioner (in districts) is appointed by the Minister.

Local government elections

Electoral system for assemblies: majority/plurality (first-past-the-post)

  • One member is elected from each ward within the local government area. The candidate who has obtained the majority of votes is declared by the Electoral Commission of Malawi to have been duly elected.

Electoral system for chief executive officers or district commissioners: no direct elections; appointment

  • The chief executive officer (in cities, municipalities, and towns) or the district commissioner (in districts) is appointed by the Minister.

Source: Local Government Elections Act, 1996 (amended through 2013), article 80(5)

  • Gender quotas: No
  • Additional quotas: No

  • Term length: 5 years
  • Last local elections: 2019
  • Next local elections: 2024

Electoral Commission of Malawi

National legal framework on local government

  • Constitution of the Republic of Malawi, 1994 (amended through 2020);
  • Local Government Act, 1998 (amended through 2017);
  • Local Government Elections Act, 1996 (amended through 2013).

There are constitutional provisions that establish local government in Malawi. According to Article 146 of the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi of 1994 (amended through 2020), “there shall be local government authorities which shall have such powers as are vested in them by this Constitution and an Act of Parliament. Local government authorities shall be responsible for the representation of the people over whom they have jurisdiction, for their welfare and shall have responsibility for the promotion of infrastructural and economic development, through the formulation and execution of local development plans and the encouragement of business enterprise, the presentation to central government authorities of local development plans and the promotion of the awareness of local issues to national government, the consolidation and promotion of local democratic institutions and democratic participation, and such other functions, including the registration of births and deaths and participation in the delivery of essential and local services, as may be prescribed by any Act of Parliament.”

The National Assembly is responsible for establishing the national legal framework on local government. The key piece of legislation that regulates local government is the Local Government Act of 1998 (amended through 2017). According to Article 3 of the Local Government Act, “the objectives of local government shall be to further the constitutional order based on democratic principles, accountability, objectives of local transparency, and participation of the people in decision-making government and development processes.”

Sources:

1. UN Women: Data on share of women in local government as of 1 January 2025.

2. UN Women: Information on Head of State and Government as of 1 December 2025.

3. Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): Data on share of women in the single/lower chamber of parliament as of 1 January 2025.

4. UN Women: Data on share of women Cabinet ministers as of 1 January 2025.

5. Information on local government organization as of 1 January 2023.