Abstract
Over the decades, the debate on traditional leadership in democratic setup has dominated scholarship with diverse views. The existence of traditional leadership alongside elected democratic leaders led to the creation of an administrative duality in the state. With state duality, state institutions established by popular elections co-exist with the traditional leadership structures that gain their legitimacy through culture. Based on empirical data collected through a purposely- mixed (quantitative and qualitative) research methodology, this paper argues that chiefs in Malawi are still influential in government administration and political governance contrary to the democratic thesis that goes for elected leaders. The paper establishes that traditional leaders in Malawi enjoy an elevated level of legitimacy compared to democratically elected representatives such as the President, Members of Parliament and Councillors. Most of the people in Malawi are not dismissive about the role of traditional leaders in a democracy. Traditional leaders themselves hold the view that their meaningful contribution to democratic governance can be enhanced if they participate in the election of the council chairperson and his or her deputy, chair all development committees and sit on the job interview panel for the District Commissioner. This article observes that those advocating for giving traditional leaders space in democracy, including subjects themselves, emphasise that mechanisms must be put in place to improve accountability and transparency by traditional leaders. This is a call for instituting democracy that is organic and rooted in local rules of the game but at the same time respecting comparable standards of democratic principles.
