The book titled DEMOCRACY TESTED: The Case of Malawi’s 2019 Tripartite Elections seeks to contribute to that body of literature by providing multidisciplinary insights into the 2019 tripartite elections and their contribution to the medium and long-term prospects of the country’s democratisation process.

While the scope of this book is the 2019 tripartite elections, the articles of the book reflect on the underlying factors and issues which led to events in the run-up to the 2020 Presidential rerun. The chapters identify the gaps in the legal reform process, the weakness in institutional capacity, poor coordination among various institutions and, importantly, the trust deficit in the EC.

The chapters in this book focus on the institutional framework in which the 2019 elections were conducted and cover institutions that played critical roles in the administration of the elections, including political parties, the Electoral Commission, civil society, traditional leaders, courts, the media, official observers, the courts and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. In addition to chapters that focus on individual institutions, the book includes chapters that address cross-cutting issues that affect all institutions, including gender, ICT and law reform.