The United Democratic Front is a political party in Malawi founded in 1992 by

Bakili Muluzi Elson Bakili Muluzi (born March 17, 1943 in Machinga, Nyasaland) is a Malawian politician who was the first freely elected president of Malawi from 1994 to 2004. He was also chairman of the United Democratic Front (UDF) until 2009. He succeeded ...

. It claims to be a

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

party in Malawi and is mainly strong in the southern region populated by ethnic Yao. Bakili Muluzi was President of Malawi from 1994 to 2004.

History

The United Democratic Front is a prominent political party in Malawi that was founded in 1992 by

. Until 2009 the party was a member of

Liberal International Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberal political parties - a political international. It was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties, aiming to strengthen liberalism around ...

, which it joined at the latter's Reykjavík Congress in 1994.

Rise of DPP faction

It came into power in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

under

who was in power until 2004, serving two terms. It continued in power under

Bingu wa Mutharika Bingu wa Mutharika (; born Brightson Webster Ryson Thom; 24 February 1934 – 5 April 2012) was a Malawian politician and economist who was President of Malawi from May 2004 until his death in April 2012. He was also President of the Democ ...

; however Muluzi remained the head of the party. After succeeding Muluzi, Mutharika came into conflict with much of the party, including Muluzi, and he left the party in February 2005 to form the

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...

(DPP). In 2009 it was the DPP which won the election. This led to mass defections from the UDF to the ruling DPP. The party however, continued to restructure.

Political performance

In 1994, the UDF candidate

came to power in Malawi. In the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

held on 20 May 2004, the UDF's candidate for president,

, won 35.9% of the vote and was elected. The party also won 49 out of 194 seats. On 24 April 2008, a UDF convention, which included 2,000 delegates, chose Muluzi as the party's 2009 presidential candidate, despite questions about his eligibility due to term limits. He received 1,950 votes at the convention against 38 for Vice-President

Cassim Chilumpha Cassim Chilumpha (born 29 November 1959) is a Malawian politician who was Vice-President of Malawi from June 2004 to May 2009. Later, under President Joyce Banda, he was appointed as Minister of Energy and Mining in April 2012. Early life Chilu ...

UDF presidents

Atupele Muluzi Atupele Muluzi (born 6 August 1978) is a Malawian politician, businessman and was a Member of Parliament for Machinga North East constituency from 2004 until May 27, 2019. He is also the President of the United Democratic Front and was a presi ...

, 2012–2022 *

, 1993–2004

UDF members

* Angela Muluzi *

* Akefe Sukali Mviza *

Esther Jolobala Esther Jolobala is a Malawian politician who has served in the Parliament of Malawi since 2014, representing the Machinga East (Malawi Parliament constituency), Machinga East constituency as a member of the United Democratic Front (Malawi), Unite ...

Clement Chiwaya Clement Terence Chiwaya (16 May 1971 – 30 September 2021) was a Malawian politician who served as an MP for Mangochi Central from 2004 to 2019. He was also Minister of Social Development and Persons with Disabilities from 2004 through 2005. ...

Electoral history

Presidential elections

National Assembly elections

References

{{Authority control 1992 establishments in Malawi Liberal parties in Africa Political parties in Malawi