When Malawians opted to abandon single party dictatorship in favor of multiparty democracy in June 1993, there was optimism the country would start to have leaders who would prioritize the best interest of the county, but that optimism is quickly disappearing, a recent survey has revealed.

According to Afrobarometer – a pan-African, non-partisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life, support for Malawi’s democracy has dropped by 23 percent within the last 12 years.

Releasing survey results this week, Afrobarometer said in 2012 support for democracy stood at 76 percent, but that has now gone down to 53 percent.

According to Afrobarometer, just about 39 percent of the country’s citizens surveyed said they are satisfied with the way democracy is functioning, when in 2012 the figure stood at 53 percent.

“A majority of survey respondents say Malawi is ‘a democracy with major problems’ or ‘not a democracy’,” reads the survey results.

For nearly three decades since gaining independence from Britain in 1964, the country was under what is considered one of the worst dictatorships in the world. Only one political party was allowed to exist by law with all Malawian citizens forced to be members. There were no elections for president, with the president at the time, Hasting Banda declared life president.

The president, who was old and frail and thought to be in his 90s, succumbed to pressure and called a national referendum in which Malawians were asked to choose between switching to multiparty democracy or retaining a single party dispersion.

Around two thirds of voters opted for the reintroduction of multiparty politics.

When Malawians go to the polls this September, it will be a seventh consecutive time they will be voting in a multiparty general election.