By Our Reporter
On 25 July 2025, DPP presidential candidate Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika named Dr Jane Ansah as his running mate for the 16 September election during his nomination paper submission at the Bingu International Convention Centre in Lilongwe.
The announcement placed her on the national ticket alongside her bid for the newly demarcated Ntcheu North West parliamentary seat.
Dr. Jane Ansah launched her first campaign trail in late July and August 2025 as both a parliamentary aspirant and the presidential running mate for the Democratic Progressive Party.
The decision placed her in a rare position in Malawian politics, contesting a seat locally while simultaneously standing for national executive office.
Her campaign began with an official kickoff on July 30–31, 2025, when she met DPP shadow Members of Parliament and ward councillors at Traditional Authority Njolomole in Ntcheu.
She followed that on 31 July with a courtesy visit to Paramount Chief Inkosi ya Makhosi Gomani V at his Nkolimbo residence in Ntcheu to secure traditional support.
The early meetings were designed to anchor her candidacy in both party structures and the authority of Malawi’s chieftaincy.
On 3 August 2025 the DPP-AFORD alliance launched its manifesto at Njamba Freedom Park in Blantyre, setting the policy frame for her speeches.
In August 2025 she opened the Southern Region phase with a prayer service at Christ-Citadel International Church in Chirimba, Blantyre, on August 10.
From Blantyre she moved on a whistle-stop tour to districts such as Thyolo and Mwanza, where she engaged traditional leaders including Ngoni Chief Imkosi Kanduku.
By August 22 she had extended the outreach to the Northern Region, attending the Livingstonia Synod National Annual Men’s Conference in Chitipa.
Across regions she projected an image of a principled, purpose-driven leader.
She championed the DPP’s “Return to Proven Leadership” message and made economic revival the centerpiece of her speeches.
She also pledged free primary and secondary education, K5 billion annual development allocations to every constituency, and K100 million in business support funds for women and youth.
The campaign tone blended legal precision with pastoral presence, reflecting her record as Malawi’s first female Attorney General from 2006 to 2011 and former Justice of Appeal.
Her role in the DPP-AFORD alliance was framed as a bid to restore integrity, accountability, and service delivery.
The strategy gained traction as she moved from constituency meetings to national rallies and faith-based gatherings.
General elections were held in Malawi on 16 September 2025 to elect the president, the 229 members of the National Assembly, and local government councillors.
The DPP ticket won with 56.76 percent of the vote, and the DPP emerged as the largest party in the National Assembly with 78 of 229 seats.
Dr. Ansah’s 2025 campaign journey culminated in that successful general election.
She was sworn in as Malawi’s Vice President alongside President Arthur Peter Mutharika on October 4, 2025, in a ceremony presided over by Chief Justice Rizine Mzikamanda at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre.
The inauguration made her only the second woman to hold the country’s second-highest office, and the first to do so under a DPP administration since 2020.
After taking office she moved quickly into executive work, including disaster response and food security interventions.
On December 2, 2025, she visited disaster-stricken areas in Chikwawa District and later launched the 2025/26 National Lean Season Food Insecurity Response Programme at Mlanda Primary School ground in Ntcheu District on 7 December.
Her early tenure also included oversight of a civil service audit and calls for climate-smart agriculture as Malawi faced projected food shortages affecting over 4 million people.
On 19 November 2025 she was named ICT Ambassador for Digital Transformation, adding a technology portfolio to her executive mandate.
On 29 November 2025, opening the Cabinet Retreat in Mangochi, she cited severe foreign exchange shortages, fuel scarcity, and rising living costs as immediate economic challenges.
International observers noted that her campaign and first months in office marked a deliberate effort to give the Vice Presidency greater operational weight.
The trajectory from running mate nomination on 25 July to Vice President on 4 October unfolded in just over two months.
For global audiences, the story illustrates how Malawi’s 2025 election rewarded leaders who could bridge law, faith, tradition, party politics, and digital policy.
Whether the momentum translates into durable reform will depend on fiscal capacity, cabinet cohesion, and public expectations.
Yet the July–August campaign remains the moment Dr. Ansah defined her mandate before entering Capital Hill.
