Malawi’s former President Mutharika declared winner of presidential poll

LILONGWE, Malawi

Malawi’s former President Arthur Peter Mutharika was declared the winner Wednesday of last week’s presidential elections, easily beating incumbent President Lazarus Chakwera.

Judge Annabel Mtalimanja, chairperson of the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), declared the 85-year-old former law professor the winner, one week after 7 million voters went to the polls to elect a new president, members of parliament and councilors to govern the Southern African nation for the next five years.

Affectionately known as “Dad” by his supporters, Mutharika, from the Democratic Progressive Party (MPP), amassed 3 million votes. Chakwera, from the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) received 1.8 million votes.

Thousands of Malawians thronged the streets of major cities and towns in jubilation after the announcement.

The two rivals were facing each other for the fourth time since the country reverted to multiparty politics in 1993, in the hotly contested poll.

Mutharika defeated Chakwera in the 2014 elections and again in 2019, but those results were annulled by Malawi’s Constitutional Court because of “massive irregularities.”

Chakwera went on to win the 2020 court-sanctioned polls backed by a nine-party electoral alliance.

The election took place against a backdrop of rising socioeconomic pressures.

Other prominent presidential hopefuls included former President Joyce Banda of the People’s Party (PP), Atupele Muluzi of the United Democratic Front (UDF) and Dalitso Kabambe of the United Transformation Movement (UTM).

Chakwera conceded defeat hours before Mutharika was declared the winner.

The Constitution states that a swearing-in ceremony of the president-elect has to take place seven days after a winner is declared.

An emotional president said in a televised broadcast to the nation that despite “some anomalies, the electoral process was very free and transparent.”

“I have therefore conceded defeat and I have called President-elect Arthur Peter Mutharika to congratulate and wish him well on his victory. He is far ahead of me and the gap is very wider for me to match him,” said Chakwera.

“I commend the Malawi Electoral Commission for being transparent in the management of the electoral process. This level of professionalism has to be maintained for the sake of our democracy,” he added.

Businesses have been closed in major towns and cities as part of security measures as the country waited for the results.

Chakwera’s attempts to seek an injunction Tuesday to stop the electoral body from announcing the results were rejected by the courts.

His supporters have been protesting for the last two days against the results on the streets of the national capital of Lilongwe.