United Democratic Front (Malawi)

The United Democratic Front is a political party in Malawi founded in 1992 by Bakili Muluzi. It claims to be a liberal party in Malawi and is mainly strong in the southern region populated by ethnic Yao. Bakili Muluzi was President of Malawi from 1994 to 2004.

History
The United Democratic Front is a prominent political party in Malawi that was founded in 1992 by Bakili Muluzi. Until 2009, the party was a member of Liberal International, which it joined at the latter's Reykjavík Congress in 1994.

Rise of DPP faction
It came into power in 1994 under Bakili Muluzi; he was in power until 2004, serving two terms. It continued in power under Bingu wa Mutharika; however, Muluzi remained the head of the party. After succeeding Muluzi, Mutharika came into conflict with much of the party, including Muluzi, and he left the party in February 2005 to form the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). In 2009, it was the DPP which won the election. This led to mass defections from the UDF to the ruling DPP. The party however, continued to restructure.

Political performance
In 1994, the UDF candidate Bakili Muluzi came to power in Malawi. In the general election held on 20 May 2004, the UDF's candidate for president, Bingu wa Mutharika, won 35.9% of the vote and was elected. The party also won 49 out of 194 seats.

On 24 April 2008, a UDF convention, which included 2,000 delegates, chose Muluzi as the party's 2009 presidential candidate, despite questions about his eligibility due to term limits. He received 1,950 votes at the convention against 38 for Vice-President Cassim Chilumpha.

UDF presidents

 * Atupele Muluzi, 2012–2022
 * Bakili Muluzi, 1993–2004

UDF members

 * Angela Muluzi
 * Atupele Muluzi
 * Bakili Muluzi
 * Akefe Sukali Mviza
 * Esther Jolobala
 * Clement Chiwaya