OPINION: What is with the voters?

Voters seem to be reversing their decisions — and perhaps their hopes, too.

In Malawi, voters reversed their decision of five years ago, when they removed Prof. Peter Mutharika from office, by returning him to the presidency in the September 2025 election.

He won with about 56.8% of the vote, defeating incumbent Lazarus Chakwera. Malawi thus becomes the fourth African country to re-elect a former president.

Just last year, in December 2024, Ghana brought back former President John Dramani Mahama, who defeated his main rival, Vice President and ruling-party candidate Mahamudu Bawumia.

In Benin, Mathieu Kérékou lost power in 1991 but returned to win the presidency again in 1996, and was re-elected in 2001.

A similar development occurred in Somalia, though under a different system. In May 2022, the Somali parliament re-elected former President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to a new term.

What is surprising in all this is the trust that voters have shown in Malawi and Ghana—the belief that a politician who once held office can suddenly return as a national saviour.

Voters often express frustration that leaders who promise transformation quickly fall short once in office.

In Zambia, as elsewhere, citizens are growing impatient with leaders who fail to deliver on jobs, the cost of living, corruption, and basic services.

This impatience fuels nostalgia for former presidents or earlier governments, with some believing that returning a familiar figure might bring stability, experience, or simply a change from the disappointments of the present.

There is a similarity here with the Gospel passage in Luke 7:31–35, where Jesus compares the people of his generation to children in the marketplace—never satisfied, rejecting both John the Baptist and the Son of Man despite the different ways in which each came.

In the same way, voters today often find excuses for the failures of politicians while refusing to take responsibility for their own role.

In a democracy, change does not come from politicians alone. Politicians respond to pressure, accountability, and the demands of the people.

Voters must move beyond nostalgia or frustration and recognise their own responsibility: to organise, to hold leaders accountable, and to demand results. Without that pressure, even the most well-meaning leaders will fail to deliver.

Democracy works best when voters stop waiting for a political “messiah” and instead act as the driving force that compels politicians to serve the public good.