He won the election with 47% of the vote, defeating Malawi's leader since independence, Hastings Kamuzu Banda.

He was re-elected in June 1999, taking 52.4% of the vote and defeating challenger Gwanda Chakuamba who was the leader of the opposition movement.

[2] In 2002 he proposed an amendment to Malawi's constitution that would have allowed him to run for a third term, but this was abandoned in the face of demonstrations against him, as well as vigorous opposition from the legislature and courts.

Despite international pressure, the millions of dollars realized from the sale of Malawi's food reserves have never been turned over, and it is widely suspected that it wound up in foreign accounts belonging to Muluzi and his supporters.

Hours after his arrest, the chief investigator Gustav Kaliwo was suspended by President Mutharika;[6] Director of Public Prosecutions Ishmael Wadi said he had no choice but to drop the charges.

The charges claimed that he had allegedly diverted 1.7 billion Malawi Kwacha (US$11m) of donor money into his personal account, funds that came from, among others, the Republic of China, the Kingdom of Morocco and Libya.

[12] On March 20, 2009, the Malawi Electoral Commission passed a judgement to bar Bakili Muluzi from running for the presidency for the third time.

[13] By that point, Muluzi and the UDF had thrown their support behind the candidacy of John Tembo, the president of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP).

[14] Muluzi announced on December 23, 2009, that he was retiring from active politics and that Friday Jumbe was replacing him as UDF leader.

[19] In connection with the investigation into this alleged plot, police attempted to search Muluzi's home on May 14, but his guards barred them from entry.

On the same day, Muluzi said on Joy Radio that he would return to Malawi from the United Kingdom regardless of the alleged plot.

Speaking on Joy Radio on May 27, Muluzi said that the documents were "laughable and fake" and accused the government of attempting to "intimidate and silence the opposition".

Wezi Kayira, the director of public prosecutions, urged the court to reject the bail application, stressing that treason was "a very serious offence which carries a heavy penalty"; he said that investigations were continuing and expressed concern that they "would be jeopardised and evidence tampered with".

[22] Speaking to Capital Radio on 22 February 2009, Muluzi accused the government of using intimidation against his presidential candidacy and warned that such conduct could lead to "problems".

[23] A few days later, he was charged by the Anti-Corruption Bureau with stealing 12 million dollars of aid money; he appeared before a court in Blantyre and was released on bail.