A referendum on reintroducing multi-party democracy was held in Malawi on 14 June 1993. It asked voters to decide whether Malawi would remain a single-party state or transition to a multiparty democracy. The country had been governed by the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) since independence in 1964, with Hastings Kamuzu Banda serving as President for Life from 1971.
Banda agreed to hold the referendum in response to international pressure and growing domestic unrest. Opposition groups had initially doubted the legitimacy of the process, but eventually participated once they were allowed to register as “special interest groups” and after a series of discussions led to an agreed legal framework. Major opposition participants included the Catholic and Presbyterian Churches, the United Democratic Front (representing internal opponents and dissident government officials), and the Alliance for Democracy (linked to trade unions and opposition groups in exile).