H istory will remember 2014 as a moment of great triumph for democracy and the Malawi media. The country held its first ever Tripartite Elections, featuring the traditional conflict between the State, its opposition and the media. However, for this first time in the country’s history, the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) included presidential debates in the electoral calendar. The debates were championed and coordinated by the Media Institute of Southern Africa’s Malawi Chapter (MISA Malawi) with support from the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) and provided an open platform for critical discussion on matters of public interest between presidential candidates and voters. The debates also ushered in an era of active citizen participation in the democratic process and cast the spotlight on issues rather than personalities. The country witnessed another milestone with the adoption of the Access to Information Policy by cabinet on 27 January 2014. Another landmark for the country’s media and democracy generally was a marked move by state media during the elections to programming based on public interest and professionalism rather than political whims. Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) has over the years gained a reputation for being a mouth-piece of the ruling party, with over 99 percent content in favour of the state. Much as MBC’s content still favoured then incumbent Joyce Banda and her People’s Party (PP), the broadcaster moved away from issuing pure propaganda for the ruling party to providing a platform for critical debate and dialogue on matters of national interest. MBC proved most critics wrong by broadcasting all the presidential debates live, despite incumbent Joyce Banda’s refusal to participate in the debates. On the policy front, the country witnessed another milestone with the adoption of the Access to Information (ATI) Policy by cabinet on 27 January 2014. Adoption of the ATI Policy closed a chapter that started in 2009 when government indicated the country could not move forward in enacting ATI legislation without an enabling policy on the same. The ATI Policy provides a framework for enacting and implementing the ATI Bill. Although the country did not witness any new media outlet on the market, the sector continued to grow in strength by speaking with one voice on matters of national interest. The media continued to comment on the country’s worst looting of public funds, popularly known as ‘cashgate’, and the need to demonstrate political will in concluding the cases. The media also came out strongly on government and the MEC to provide people with information during the electoral impasse. The media proved to be instrumental and gained the confidence of the people as a source of critical information at a So This is Democracy? 2014 37