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System of Government Malawi is a democratic country with a multi-party representative system of Government, headed by the President, who leads the Executive arm. The other arms of Government are the Legislature, headed by the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Judiciary which is headed by the Chief Justice. Malawi holds elections every five years to elect the President (who leads the Executive) and 193 Members of Parliament who form the Legislature. The Speaker of the National Assembly, who is Head of the Legislature, is elected by members of the National Assembly. Apart from the Central Government, Malawi also has a young but upcoming local government system at district, town and city council levels, comprising of ward councillors. In order to strengthen its young democracy, the Government put in place the following governance institutions, which operate independently (or semi-independently) of the Government: The Human Rights Commission, Office of the Ombudsman, Law Commission and The Anti Corruption Bureau. Since the advent of multiparty democracy in 1994, a multiple number of other Human Rights Organizations and other Non-Governmental Organizations have been set up with the full blessings of the Government making Malawi one of the few practical examples of democratic Governance at work on the continent. The country is one of the few African Countries that has been experiencing peaceful transfer of power following elections.
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