Malawi announces state funeral and 21 days of mourning for vice president killed in a plane crash

BLANTYRE, Malawi (AP) — The Malawi government said Wednesday that Vice President Saulos Chilima will be honored with a state funeral after he died in a plane crash along with eight other people.

President Lazarus Chakwera announced 21 days of national mourning on Tuesday, when the wreckage of the small military plane carrying Chilima and a former first lady was discovered in a mountainous area in the country's north.

Chilima was 51 and had been vice president since 2014, having served a first term in the role under former President Peter Mutharika.

Chakwera previously said there were 10 people on the plane, but the government now says nine were on board.

Everyone was killed on impact when the twin-propeller aircraft went down in a hilly, forested area in bad weather, the president said. The victims included former first lady Shanil Dzimbiri, the ex-wife of former Malawian President Bakili Muluzi. Six passengers and three military crew members were on board.

The plane was on a short flight from the capital, Lilongwe, to the northern city of Mzuzu for a funeral of a former government minister when it went missing Monday morning. The president said air traffic controllers had told the plane not to land in Mzuzu because of bad weather and poor visibility and to return to Lilongwe. Air traffic controllers then lost contact with the plane and it disappeared from radar.

Hundreds of soldiers, police officers and forest rangers searched for more than 24 hours before the wreckage was discovered in a forest plantation south of Mzuzu.

The remains of the victims were brought back to Lilongwe on a Zambian Air Force helicopter on Tuesday night.

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People walk in the street in Lilongwe, Malawi, Wednesday, June 12, 2024, following the death of Malawi's Vice President, Saulos Chilima, in a plane crash Monday. The Malawi government says that Chilima will be honored with a state funeral after he was killed along with eight other people in a plane crash. (AP Photo/Thoko Chikondi)

A mourner is comforted in Lilongwe, Malawi, Wednesday , June 12, 2024, following the death of Malawi's Vice President, Saulos Chilima, in a plane crash Monday. The Malawi government says that Chilima will be honored with a state funeral after he was killed along with eight other people in a plane crash. (AP Photo/Thoko Chikondi)

A mourner is comforted in Lilongwe, Malawi, Wednesday, June 12, 2024, following the death of Malawi's Vice President, Saulos Chilima, in a plane crash Monday. The Malawi government says that Chilima will be honored with a state funeral after he was killed along with eight other people in a plane crash. (AP Photo/Thoko Chikondi)

A mourner lights a candle in Lilongwe, Malawi, Wednesday, June 12, 2024, following the death of Malawi's Vice President, Saulos Chilima, in a plane crash Monday. The Malawi government says that Chilima will be honored with a state funeral after he was killed along with eight other people in a plane crash. (AP Photo/Thoko Chikondi)

A vendor sells newspapers in Lilongwe, Malawi, Wednesday, June 12, 2024, following the death of Malawi's Vice President, Saulos Chilima, in a plane crash Monday. The Malawi government says that Chilima will be honored with a state funeral after he was killed along with eight other people in a plane crash. (AP Photo/Thoko Chikondi)

Mourners comfort one another in Lilongwe, Malawi, Wednesday, June 12, 2024, following the death of Malawi's Vice President, Saulos Chilima, in a plane crash on Monday. The Malawi government says that Chilima will be honored with a state funeral after he was killed along with eight other people in a plane crash. (AP Photo/Thoko Chikondi)

A man reacts to the Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera's news in Lilongwe, Tuesday, June 11, 2024 that the Vice President and nine others had been killed in a plane crash. The wreckage of the military plane carrying Vice President Saulos Chilima was located in a mountainous area in the north of the country after a search that lasted more than a day. (AP Photo)

Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera, left, greets people in Lilongwe, Tuesday, June 11, 2024 where he made an announcement that the Vice President and nine others had been killed in a plane crash. The wreckage of the military plane carrying Vice President Saulos Chilima was located in a mountainous area in the north of the country after a search that lasted more than a day. (AP Photo)

Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera, left, greets people in Lilongwe, Tuesday, June 11, 2024 where he made an announcement that the Vice President and nine others had been killed in a plane crash. The wreckage of the military plane carrying Vice President Saulos Chilima was located in a mountainous area in the north of the country after a search that lasted more than a day. (AP Photo)

Mourners await the body of Vice President Saulos Chilima, at Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe, Malawi, Tuesday, June 11, 2024. The wreckage of the military plane carrying Vice President Chilima and nine others was located in a mountainous area in the north of the country after a search that lasted more than a day. (AP Photo/Thoko Chikondi)

FILE - Malawi Vice President Saulos Chilima,left, and his wife Mary disembark from a plane upon his return from South Korea in Lillongwe, Sunday, June 9, 2024. Malawi’s vice president and nine others have been killed in a plane crash, the country’s president said Tuesday. The wreckage of the military plane carrying Vice President Saulos Chilima was located in a mountainous area in the north of the country after a search that lasted more than a day. There were no survivors of the crash, Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera said. Chakwera made the announcement in a live address on state television. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Malawi Vice President Saulos Chilima, left, greets government officials upon his return from South Korea in Lillongwe, Sunday, June 9, 2024. Malawi’s vice president and nine others have been killed in a plane crash, the country’s president said Tuesday. The wreckage of the military plane carrying Vice President Saulos Chilima was located in a mountainous area in the north of the country after a search that lasted more than a day. There were no survivors of the crash, Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera said. Chakwera made the announcement in a live address on state television. (AP Photo, File)

Mourners await the body of Vice President Saulos Chilima, at Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe, Malawi, Tuesday, June 11, 2024. The wreckage of the military plane carrying Vice President Chilima and nine others was located in a mountainous area in the north of the country after a search that lasted more than a day. (AP Photo/Thoko Chikondi)

Wife of Vice President Saulos Chilima, Mary Chilima, centre, is comforted by Malawi First Lady Monica Chakwera, left, at Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe, Malawi, Tuesday, June 11, 2024 as they await the body of the vice president and nine others killed in a plane crash. The wreckage of the military plane carrying Vice President Chilima was located in a mountainous area in the north of the country after a search that lasted more than a day. (AP Photo/Thoko Chikondi)

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin voters decided Tuesday to enshrine the state's voter ID law in the state constitution.

The state was also electing its top education official, who will guide policies affecting K-12 schools during President Donald Trump’s second term, will be elected Tuesday in a race between the teachers union-backed incumbent and a Republican-supported critic.

Both contests had sharp partisan divisions, though they have drawn far less spending and national attention than the race for control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Polls closed at 8 p.m. CDT.

Here’s a look at the two contests:

Wisconsin’s photo ID requirement for voting will be elevated from state law to constitutional amendment under a proposal approved by voters.

The Republican-controlled Legislature placed the measure on the ballot and pitched it as a way to bolster election security and protect the law from being overturned in court.

President Donald Trump trumpeted the measure's approval on his social media platform, Truth Social, calling it “maybe the biggest win of the night.”

“It should allow us to win Wisconsin, like I just did in the presidential election, for many years to come!" he said.

Trump narrowly lost Wisconsin to Joe Biden in 2020 but defeated Kamala Harris last November election to claim its 10 electoral votes.

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who is leading Trump’s efforts to shrink the federal government, also noted the outcome on his social media platform, X, saying: “Yeah!”

Democratic opponents argued that photo ID requirements are often enforced unfairly, making voting more difficult for people of color, disabled people and poor people.

All Voting is Local, a nonpartisan voting rights organization, warned that placing the photo ID mandate in the constitution will make it harder to vote.

“We should not be purposefully leaving eligible voters behind by setting up additional barriers to the ballot, but unfortunately, those in the Badger State have one more step to take before voting,” Sam Liebert, the organization's state director, said in a statement.

Wisconsin voters won't notice any changes when they go to the polls. They will still have to present a valid photo ID just as they have under the state law, which was passed in 2011 and went into effect permanently in 2016 after a series of unsuccessful lawsuits.

Placing the photo ID requirement in the constitution makes it more difficult for a future Legislature controlled by Democrats to change the law. Any constitutional amendment must be approved in two consecutive legislative sessions and by a statewide popular vote.

Wisconsin is one of nine states where people must present photo ID to vote, and its requirement is the nation’s strictest, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Thirty-six states have laws requiring or requesting that voters show some sort of identification, according to the NCSL.

The race to lead the state Department of Public Instruction pits incumbent Jill Underly, who is backed by Democrats and the teachers union, against consultant Brittany Kinser, a supporter of the private school voucher program who is endorsed by Republicans but calls herself a moderate.

Wisconsin is the only state where voters elect the top education official but there is no state board of education. That gives the superintendent broad authority to oversee education policy, from dispersing school funding to managing teacher licensing.

The winner will take office at a time when test scores are still recovering from the pandemic, the achievement gap between white and Black students remains the worst in the country and more schools are asking voters to raise property taxes to pay for operations.

Underly’s education career began in 1999 as a high school social studies teacher in Indiana. She moved to Wisconsin in 2005 and worked for five years at the state education department. She also was principal of Pecatonica Elementary School for a year before becoming district administrator.

Underly, 47, was elected state superintendent in 2021 and was endorsed by the union, the Wisconsin Education Association Council, as well as the Wisconsin Democratic Party and numerous Democratic officeholders.

Kinser, whose backers include the Wisconsin Republican Party and former Republican Govs. Tommy Thompson and Scott Walker, is vying to become the first GOP-affiliated person to hold the superintendent position in more than 30 years.

She worked for almost 10 years as a special education teacher and instructional coach in Chicago Public Schools. After that she spent 15 years at public charter schools in Chicago, California and Milwaukee.

In the Milwaukee area, Kinser worked for Rocketship schools, part of a national network of public charter institutions, and became its executive director for the region.

In 2022 she left Rocketship for City Forward Collective, a Milwaukee nonprofit that advocates for charter and voucher schools. She also founded a consulting firm where she currently works.

Kinser, 47, tried to brand Underly as being a poor manager of the Department of Public Instruction and keyed in on her overhaul of state achievement standards last year.

Underly said that was done to better reflect what students are learning now, but the change was met with bipartisan opposition including from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who was previously state superintendent himself. Evers has not made an endorsement in the race.

Kinser said the new standards lowered the bar for students and made it more difficult to evaluate how schools and districts are performing over time.

Underly portrayed Kinser as nothing more than a lobbyist who doesn’t care about public education. Kinser supports the state’s private school voucher and charter school program, which Democrats and Underly oppose on the grounds that such programs siphon needed money away from public schools.

Maximillian Marquez, left, walks to a voting booth at the Milwaukee Academy of Chinese Language to cast a ballot in the state's Supreme Court election, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)

A voter casts a ballot during early voting in Waukesha, Wis., Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)