After his victory in the 19 May elections, President Bingu wa Mutharika and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) dominate Malawi's political scene. Mutharika won 66% of the vote to 31% for his closest rival, John Tembo. This is a strong vote of confidence in the incumbent and of no-confidence in his more experienced rivals. Mutharika's DPP, which did not even exist during the 2004 elections, gained 114 of the National Assembly's 192 seats, a figure expected to rise to 137 after independent members of Parliament join the government party. That would give it well over the two-thirds majority required to amend the constitution.
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