An online survey shared by Malawi24, suggesting Peter Mutharika’s victory, has been celebrated by the DPP camp. But let’s be clear: such results carry no real meaning. They are not, and cannot be, a reflection of how Malawians will vote on 16 September. To confuse a Facebook poll with an election is the mark of political amateurs who do not understand the game of politics.
In Malawi, the ballot is not decided by clicks and likes. Most Malawians do not live on social media; they live in villages, where elections are won and lost. Believing that a sample of 20,000 online votes speaks for the nation of 20 million is like counting smoke and calling it fire, or counting chicks before they hatch. It is political wishful thinking.
What matters is momentum on the ground — and here the MCP and President Lazarus Chakwera stand far ahead. The energy in the villages, the enthusiasm at rallies, the visible infrastructure projects — these are the real markers of support. Come September, it will not be online noise but the real voice of Malawians that decides the future.
The truth is simple: DPP’s online “victory” is an illusion. Chakwera’s momentum is reality.
