After the re-election of Bingu wa Mutharika as President in May 2009 it has not taken Malawi's politicians long before beginning to jockey for position for the next Presidential elections in 2014.

John Tembo, who currently leads the Malawi Congress Party at the age of 77, has announced that he intends to stand in 2014. His support from his fellow MCP members, however, is far from unanimous. After the death of his main rival, Ishmael Chafukira, in a car crash in South Africa, and claims from his critics within the party that he had misused party funds, Tembo has faced competition within the party led by Ephraim Kabele Kayembe, who is 36. Recently when the full Parliament voted to elect the leader of the opposition, Tembo, who had been leader, lost to Kayembe by 8 votes to 118. Some feel that the government should not have been part of the voting process. Meanwhile Kayembe and his associates have been suspended from the MCP. Watch this space!

Meanwhile the United Democratic Front of Bakili Muluzi are encouraging former members who had been removed from the party to return. While previously Muluzi had the reputation of financing the party and making nearly all the major decisions by himself, now his son, Atupele Muluzi, has announced that the party must learn to stand on its own feet financially.

The Democratic Progressive Party of Bingu wa Mutharika has different problems. There have been rumours that Joyce Banda, the Vice-President, has set up a task force to lobby for her to be the Presidential candidate of the DPP next time round, rumours that she has, naturally, denied. But, not to be outdone, the President has told the nation that his brother, Peter wa Mutharika, currently Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, is free to run for any position, including the presidency.