At first glance, Malawi's 14 million people have a remarkable array of registered political parties to choose from - 48 to be exact. But with the clock ticking down towards next year's presidential, parliamentary and local elections, the reality is far simpler since most of the country's plethora of parties are inactive.
And in presidential terms, there are really only four candidates who currently stand a chance of occupying State House after the polls - President Joyce Banda of the People's Party (PP), Atupele Muluzi of the United Democratic Front (UDF), Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Reverend Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP).
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