THE PRESIDENT
The President is the Head of State and Government and is elected every five years by direct universal suffrage. He exercises executive power and Ministers are responsible to him. The President is Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces of Malawi.

VICE PRESIDENT
Malawian law requires that every presidential candidate declare who shall be his or her Vice President (running mate). The Constitution provides for the Vice President to be elected concurrently with the President and the name of a candidate for the Vice Presidency appears on the same ballot paper as the name of the presidential candidate who nominated him.

IMPEACHMENT
The President and Vice-President can be removed from office if the National Assembly has indicted and convicted them, by impeachment. The procedure of impeachment is laid down by the Standing Orders of Parliament. The impeachment can only be on the grounds of serious breach of the written laws of the Republic that either occurred or came to light during their terms. Indictment on impeachment requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of the National Assembly in a committee of the whole house.

PARLIAMENT
All legislative powers are vested in parliament, which comprises the National Assembly, the Senate and the President as Head of State. The Constitution states that the National Assembly shall consist of such number of seats, representing every constitutency in Malawi, as shall be determined by the Electoral Commission.

Provisions of the 1994 Constitution allow for the President to be called to Parliament to answer questions at such times as may be prescribed by the standing Orders of Parliament or on motion of the National Assembly or Senate. The National Assembly has 177 elective seats. Elections are by universal suffrage, in the context of a multi-party system, and a number of additional members may be nominated by the President. Members of the National Assembly have to be a minimum of 21 years of age, and those of the Senate a minimum of 35 years.

The Speaker is appointed from among the ordinary members of the Assembly. The Assembly may change the Constitution by a two-thirds majority on the second and third readings. The parliamentary term is normally five years. The President has power to prorogue or dissolve Parliament.

CABINET
The Cabinet consists of the President, the Vice President , Ministers and Deputy Ministers. The Ministers are appointed by the President. Its maximum size is 24.

JUDICIAL SYSTEM
The courts administering justice are the Supreme Court of Appeal, High Court and Magistrate's Courts. The Supreme Court is the highest appellate Court. The Supreme Court comprises the Chief Justice and such number of Judges as may be prescribed by an Act of Parliament. The High Court has unlimited jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters. Traditional Courts were abolished under the 1994 Constitution. Appeals from the High Court are heard by the Supreme Court of Appeal in Blantyre.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION
Determines the number of seats to represent every constituency in Malawi. It consists of a chairman who is a judge and is nominated by the Judicial Service Commission and not less than six other members appointed in accordance with an Act of Parliament.

THE OMBUDSMAN
The Clerk of the National Assembly publicly advertises the post of Ombudsman and the successful candidate is appointed by the Public Appointments Committee. The Office handles public complaints and cases where a person suffers an injustice. The Ombudsman lays before parliament, each year, a report recording all complaints and applications to his office and of the remedies to the grievance advanced by the public.

THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
Malawian Law provides for a Human Rights Commission which includes the Law Commissioner and the Ombudsman. The two public officers jointly refer names nominated to the Commission to the President who formally appoints them as members of the Human Rights Commission.

GENDER
Under Malawi's new constitution, women enjoy equal rights with men but non-legal impediments based on custom and tradition prevail.

A Survey conducted in 1996 by the Women in Development Southern Africa Awareness(WIDSAA), the gender programme of the Southern Africa Research and Documentation Centre(SARDC), indicated that Malawi had one of the lowest numbers of women in parliament, in the SADC region at 5.6 percent.

CIVIL SOCIETY
Malawi has a number of civil society organisations. Some of them are: the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation, Association for Promotion of Women in Politics, Malawi Institute of Democratic and Economic Affairs (MIDEA) and the Church/NGO Consortium. The organisations are mainly engaged in civic education, legal counselling, voter education, advocacy work, lobbying and research work on democracy and governance.

POPULATION
11.2 million (1997 estimate) according to the 1999 Official SADC Trade, Industry and Investment Review.

MEMBERSHIP OF REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

• Southern African Development Community (SADC)
• Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)
• Organisation of African Unity (OAU)
• Commonwealth
• United Nations (UN)
• World Bank
• International Monetary Fund (IMF)