Government and parties learn lessons from US elections

Malawi’s government, political parties and civil society leaders say the country needs to learn lessons from elections in the United States of America and understand that the process can be free, fair and credible through the digitalization of democracy.

In the election, Republican nominee Donald Trump made history as the first former president of this country to return to the White House after defeating incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, in both the popular vote and the Electoral College.

The British Broadcasting Corporation said Trump won 51 percent of the vote to 47.4 percent for Harris, who late succeeded President Joe Biden.

Reacting to the results, representatives of the government, political parties and civil society said the US elections provide valuable information that the country needs to absorb ahead of the general elections on September 16, 2025.

In an interview, Information and Digitalization Minister Moses Kunkuyu said one of the key lessons is that democracy can include digitalization.

He said: “One of the main lessons we can learn is that a huge economy and population like the US can hold elections and be able to see a picture of the results within a short period of time from election day.

“This is how democracy perceives digitalization as a tool for strengthening democracy. African countries must learn from this and support digital transformation initiatives.”

In a separate interview, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesman Shadrick Namalomba said Trump’s victory showed the world, and especially Malawi, that there was much to learn.

He said: “When leaders fail to prioritize the needs of their people, their attempts to maintain power ultimately prove futile.

“President Trump’s campaign, centered on the promise of making America great again, mirrors our own campaign to bring back proven leadership and improve conditions in Malawi.”

Namalomba said Trump was re-elected because he is a credible and experienced leader who can revive the economy and create jobs for the American people.

He said: “As the DPP, we also share the vision of a peaceful and stable world and we are confident that Trump’s success will be reflected here in Malawi.”

Namalomba said the former ruling party has no doubt that, like Trump, its presidential candidate Peter Mutharika will return to the country with confidence and lead Malawi to a better and brighter future.

Malawi Congress Party general secretary Richard Chimwendo Banda said in a separate telephone interview that the main lesson was that elections can be held democratically and without violence.

He said: “Many African countries, including Malawi, need to emulate this: any election can be held without violence, especially on polling day. In the end, democracy must prevail.”

United Democratic Front spokesman Dyson Jhangia said the greatest lesson from the US election is that a return to leadership is possible.

“The main thing is people’s trust in a specific leadership. The electorate expects consistency, determination and impactful policies,” he said.

But for their part, civil society leaders said in separate interviews that the US elections prove that elections can be free and fair.

The executive director of the Center for Social Responsibility and Transparency, Willie Kambwandira, said one of the key lessons in an interview yesterday

is in trust.

He said: “The lessons we learn from American elections are that elections must be fair, peaceful, transparent and inclusive so that everyone who is interested can participate in the election and ultimately citizens choose their preferred leader.”

Kambwandira said another lesson was that during political campaigns there should be no boundaries to allow each political party to campaign peacefully and freely.

In a written response, Human Rights Defenders Coalition Chairman Gift Trapence said the US election results set a good example of how credible elections should be conducted in a transparent and non-violent manner.

He said: “Our political parties should learn from the American pattern of running campaigns based on the ideology of political parties, rather than campaigns full of rhetoric and promoting political violence.”

Of the seven key swing states, Trump won North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and also carried Michigan, Nevada and Arizona, according to the BBC.

On the other hand, Republicans also won a majority of Senate seats with 52 percent, while Democrats held 42 percent.

Meanwhile, according to the BBC, Harris spoke to Trump by phone to admit her defeat.