Malawi polls: President Chakwera snub prompts delay of TV debate with rivals

A televised presidential debate scheduled for Friday was postponed after Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera and his main rival, former president Peter Mutharika, turned down invitations to participate.

It was the second time that the two rivals had snubbed invitations for a head-to-head televised debate involving all presidential candidates.

Malawians will head to the polls on September 16 to vote in presidential and parliamentary elections that will see President Chakwera and Mutharika square off against each other for the presidency for the third consecutive time.

Each has lost once and won once in the previous contests.

Further discussions

Organisers said the TV debate set for August 29 was shifted to a yet-to-be determined date to create space for further discussions with political parties, according to a statement.