Sawt Falasteen - Malawi votes in a rematch between two presidents as economic crisis bites

There are 17 names on the ballot paper but analysts say the race is between President Lazarus Chakwera and Peter Mutharika who also duelled in the 2019 vote which was nullified over tampering and followed by a rerun.

Pastor Chakwera, 70, and law professor Mutharika, 85, have campaigned on improving the agriculture-dependent economy battered by a series of climate shocks, with inflation topping 27 percent.

But both have been accused of cronyism, corruption and economic mismanagement during their first terms, leaving voters a choice between "two disappointments", said political commentator Chris Nhlane.

"Both men embody unfulfilled potential and dashed hopes, yet Malawians must still choose a lesser liability between them," he told AFP.

They drew large crowds to colourful final rallies at the weekend but many younger Malawians were uninspired.

"I would rather go to work than go to vote," said a 30-year-old entrepreneur who would only give his first name, Joseph. "Nothing changes," he said.

With around 60 percent of the 7.2 million registered voters aged under 35, activists have been mobilising to overcome apathy and get young voters to the polls after they open at 6:00 am (0400 GMT).

"We are frustrated," said youth activist Charles Chisambo, 34. "If people vote for Mutharika, it is just to have a change," he said.

"We don't need a leader, we need someone who can fix the economy."

Costs of living in one of the world's poorest countries have surged 75 percent in 12 months, according to reports citing the Centre for Social Concern, a non-governmental organisation.

Two seasons of drought and a devastating cyclone in 2023 have compounded hardships in a country where around 70 percent of the population lives in poverty, according to the World Bank.

- Forex, fuel and fertiliser -

Chakwera, from the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) that led the nation to independence from Britain in 1964, has pleaded for continuity to "finish what we started", flaunting several infrastructure projects underway.

"There have been complaints about the cost of living, the lack of resources, food scarcity," he told a rally on Saturday in the capital Lilongwe, an MCP support base.

"I have heard all of them and I have taken your words to heart. We will fix things," he said, blaming people in his administration for mismanagement.

Days earlier, he announced a massive drop in the high cost of fertiliser, a major complaint across the largely agricultural country.

Lydia Sibale, 48, a hospital administrator who had been in a petrol queue in Lilongwe for an hour, said she still had confidence in Chakwera. "The only challenge is the economic crisis, which is worldwide," she said.

Chakwera was elected with around 59 percent of the vote in the 2020 rerun but five years later there is some nostalgia for Mutharika's "relatively better administration", said analyst Mavuto Bamusi.

"Chakwera's incumbency advantage has significantly been messed up by poor economic performance," he said.

"I want to rescue this country," Mutharika told a cheering rally of his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the second city of Blantyre, the heartland of the party that has promised a "return to proven leadership" and economic reform.

"I will vote for APM (Mutharika) because he knows how to manage the economy and has Malawians' welfare at heart," 31-year-old student Thula Jere told AFP.

With a winner requiring more than 50 percent of votes, a run-off within 60 days is likely.

N.AbuHussein--SF-PST