Malawi’s former president, Peter Mutharika has taken an early election lead as he faces off for the fourth time against incumbent Lazarus Chakwera.
Mutharika received roughly 51 per cent of the valid votes cast in nine of the country’s 36 councils, compared with almost 39 per cent for Chakwera, according to Reuters calculations of provisional results from one-quarter of councils released by the country’s election commission.
A candidate needs to secure more than 50 per cent of valid votes for an outright win; otherwise, there will be a second round.
Political analysts had predicted the September 16 vote would be a two-horse race between Mutharika and Chakwera, the presidential candidates of the two biggest parties in the Southern African country’s parliament.
Malawi has faced economic stagnation since former pastor Chakwera, 70, was elected five years ago.
A devastating cyclone and a regional drought, both linked to climate change, have destroyed crops and exacerbated hardship.
Inflation has been above 20 per cent for more than three years.
Former law professor Mutharika, 85, was credited with improving infrastructure and lowering inflation during his 2014 to 2020 presidency, but critics accused him of cronyism, which he denied.
Chakwera came to office pledging to clean up graft, but his handling of cases has been criticised as selective and slow.
The election commission has until the end of Wednesday to announce the full provisional result of the presidential election.
It has warned candidates not to declare victory prematurely and said it was cross-checking every tally sheet to ensure accuracy.
The Constitutional Court annulled Mutharika’s 2019 election victory due to irregularities, including the use of correction fluid on the results sheets.
Chakwera won the re-run in 2020.
(North West Star)
