Malawi: Political background

Publisher's note: The following is extracted from "Malawi" IN Compendium of Elections in Southern Africa (2002), edited by Tom Lodge, Denis Kadima and David Pottie, EISA, 119-136. Additional material is being added to deepen this section.

• Pre-history to early state formation(c 2.5 million BP - c 1550CE)
• The Maravi Confederacy and the Ngulube kingdoms (1550-1800)
• Invasions from all sides - the Swahili to the British (1800-1891)
• The Colonial Period (1891-1964)
• Era of One Party Rule (1964-1992)
• Pressures for a MultiParty System (1992)
• Run Up to the Referendum (1992-1993)
• The Referendum Results (1993)
• Campaigning for MultiParty Elections (1993-1994)
• May 1994 Elections: A Watershed (1994-1998)
• 1999 Elections (1998-1999)