In the past, the state-owned Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) has been the official broadcaster for the elections, but in this year's elections political parties vehemently refused EC to allow MBC take up this task and, after endless meetings between the opposition, electoral stakeholders and government, ZBS was chosen.
Although there are seven presidential candidates, there is a tight two-horse race between opposition leader John Tembo who is contesting on the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and incumbent President Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika who is running for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Mutharika will be riding on the back of his economic success where he has achieved economic growth rates of over 7% per annum for the past three years. On the other hand, Tembo has been trying to use the 13 years he was Reserve Bank governor in the single party government of the late Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda when Malawi kwacha was equivalent to US$2.
