Africa Current Affairs - 2020

Lazarus Chakwera elected as New President of Malawi following Evidence of Irregularities in 2019 Elections

On 23rd June 2020, the Presidential Elections of Malawi was conducted after the annulment of the results of the 2019 Presidential Elections by the Constitutional Court of Malawi earlier in the month of February 2020.

Lazarus Chakwera was elected as the new President of Malawi after winning 2,604,043 votes, which is 59.34 percent of the total valid votes. 2019 Presidential Election winner Peter Mutharika secured 39.92 percent of the total valid votes in the 2020 Presidential Elections.

This is the second incidence of Annulment of Election in the Africa Continent in the last 4 years, in August 2017 the Presidential Election of Kenya was annulled.


The 2019 Presidential Election was conducted on 21st May 2019 in which Peter Mutharika become the President of Malawi by securing the highest 38.57 percent of the total valid votes.

The election results were highly criticized by the opposition parties of Malawi and called the election as the Tipp-Ex election. Tip-Ex is a popular correction fluid. The opposition parties claimed that the correction fluid Tip-Ex was used for tampering the votes. Based on the allegations, the Constitutional Court of Malawi founded irregularities and evidence of vote tampering during the investigations.

This led to the annulment of the 2019 Presidential Election by the Constitutional Court on 3rd February 2020.

Current Affairs FAQs: Saharan Cheetah

For the first time in a decade, the naturalists have filmed a Saharan Cheetah in a Hoggar Mountains national park in Algeria.

What is Saharan Cheetah?

Saharan cheetah (Zoological name: Acinonyx jubatus hecki) or Northwest African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus hecki) is a subspecies of Cheetah endemic to Sahara and the Sahel regions of Africa.  It is a critically endangered fauna and its total population was suspected to be less than 250 in 2008.

How it is different from other African Cheetahs?

Saharan Cheetah is different from other Cheetah species in Africa because of shorter coat and nearly white colour. Its face has few or no spots and tear stripes are almost absent.

In which countries, Saharan Cheetah is found?

The Saharan cheetah used to be found in fragmented populations in western and central Sahara and Sahel regions of Africa. The main countries where it is found include Algeria, Chad, Mali, Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger. However, it is now extinct from most of the countries in wild.

What are key climatic adaptations in Saharan Cheetah?

This subspecies is found in hot and dry regions and has some behavioural and physiological adaptation to suit to the harsh environment. For example, they are predominantly nocturnal and can subsist without direct access to water for several days (by obtaining water from blood of their prey).

What is current population of Saharan Cheetah?

It is thought that currently, only 37 individuals may be alive in world in wild.