Leaders | A tale of two elections

A rigged vote is overturned in Malawi. Why not in Congo?

Outsiders bet on Félix Tshisekedi to stabilise Congo. He is failing

IN THE PAST 13 months Congo and Malawi have both held rotten elections. In Malawi tally sheets arrived at a central vote-counting station having been altered with Tipp-Ex, a correction fluid. The incumbent president, Peter Mutharika, narrowly “won”. In the Democratic Republic of Congo an independent tally organised by Catholic bishops has suggested that an opposition leader, Martin Fayulu, won about 60% of the vote, three times as many as Félix Tshisekedi. But Mr Tshisekedi was declared the winner and sworn in as president in January 2019.

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “A tale of two elections”

Meet the new boss: What it takes to be a CEO in the 2020s

From the February 8th 2020 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Leaders

Keir Starmer surrounded by the Eu stars

Sir Keir Starmer should aim higher in his reset with the EU

And he needs to be clearer about what Britain wants

illustration of a world map outlined by a single red electrical cord, with a plug at one end and a socket at the other

To make electricity cheaper and greener, connect the world’s grids

Less than 3% of the world’s power is internationally traded—a huge wasted opportunity


Chinese AI is catching up, posing a dilemma for Donald Trump

The success of DeepSeek and other Chinese modelmakers threatens America’s lead 


America has an imperial presidency

And in Donald Trump, an imperialist president for the first time in over a century

Tariffs will harm America, not induce a manufacturing rebirth

Donald Trump’s pursuit of tariffs will make the world poorer—and America, too 

How to improve clinical trials

Involving more participants can lead to new medical insights