The Election Commission (MEC) announced on Saturday June 27 that the Malawian opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera won the presidential election contested Tuesday against outgoing Peter Mutharika, whose re-election in 2019 had been canceled for fraud. The latter denounced irregularities even before the results.

After four long days of counting, the president of the MEC Chifundo Kachale confirmed the great victory of Lazarus Chakwera, a former evangelical pastor of 65 years. "The Commission declares that Lazarus Chakwera, who obtained 58.57% (WELL 58.57) of the votes, has reached the required majority and is elected president of Malawi", declared its president Chifundo Kachale, to the clamors of the supporters of winner.

"I am so happy, I could dance all night," Lazarus Chakwera immediately reacted to the press. "My heart is bubbling with joy and gratitude for the Lord". "It is a victory for the Malawians, a victory for democracy, a victory for justice," said the president-elect, who campaigned on the economic failure and corruption of the regime. "It is a victory that will put the nation back on track, to build a new Malawi in which everyone will be involved," he promised.

A contested ballot

Outgoing president Peter Mutharika, 79, bit the dust heavily, more than 800,000 votes behind the winner.

A few hours earlier, without waiting for confirmation of his defeat, the outgoing president threw trouble by denouncing irregularities in the ballot. "We were hoping for an election without irregularities (...) all Malawians saw that this election was the worst in history," he said in a brief statement to the press. "We believe that most of the results sent to the MEC (Electoral Commission) do not reflect the will of the people," he added.

The outgoing head of state said that his party's tellers had been "beaten, beaten, kidnapped and intimidated so that they could not participate in controlling the vote". "Many signature sheets do not have their signatures," he said.

His Progressive Democratic Party (DPP) had demanded the outright cancellation of the results, suggesting a new battle in court. During the disputed ballot in May 2019, the MEC proclaimed the victory of Peter Mutharika, in power since 2014, with 38.57% of the vote against 35.41% in Lazarus Chakwera.

But the Leader of the Opposition challenged the results and his supporters took to the streets for several months to have the poll canceled. Their demonstrations had been the scene of frequent violence with the police. In February, the Constitutional Court finally ruled in opposition, invalidating the results on the grounds of "generalized and systematic irregularities" and ordering a new ballot.

Malawi has thus become the second country in sub-Saharan Africa to have canceled a presidential election, after Kenya in 2017.

In the aftermath of Tuesday's poll, local NGOs, which had sent observers across the country, made an initial assessment concluding that the "electoral process has gone well so far". The statement by the outgoing president, even before the results were published, has drawn fierce criticism in Malawi, particularly in civil society. 

Malawi is one of the poorest countries on the planet. According to the World Bank, more than half of its 17 million inhabitants live below the poverty line.

With AFP

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