Abstract

Since the reintroduction of multiparty democracy in 1993, political parties in Malawi have been at the centre of ‘ideology and policy positions’ debate. Political parties are said to be lacking substantial ideologies, and that their policy positions are almost identical. This study makes further contribution to this debate. It mainly focuses on differences and similarities in issue saliency across two main parties and across three general elections, 1994, 1999 and 2004 as reflected in the electoral manifestos. Second, the study looks at the subject of policy commitment by examining whether ideas in the electoral manifestos are reflected in decisions taken by the parties in power. In this second aspect, the study only looks at whether the intentions of the manifesto are brought onto the government agenda as opposed to examining the merits or demerits of a particular policy commitment. With the evidence presented, the study demonstrates that there are some small but significant differences in issue salience across parties and across elections. The study also reveals that ruling parties show commitment to their electoral manifesto by making sure that important issues are brought before the government agenda. Parties do not completely abandon their electoral promises. Importantly, changes in national policies with the change of government leadership signify that parties are slightly different in their ideological orientation. Overall, there are encouraging signs to indicate that although parties appear to be vague on issues when they meet the electorates, differences in issue saliency and ideological positions at the macro level are evident.

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School	: School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Issued Date	: 2009

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