Malawi election: Parties claim victory as MEC withholds final results
Leaders of Chakwera and Mutharika declare victory, but the electoral commission has not announced results amid an economy in crisis.
BLANTYRE, Malawi — The parties backing the two leading presidential candidates claimed victory Thursday as the Malawi Electoral Commission cautioned that results were not yet announced. The vote Tuesday was expected to produce a tight contest between President Lazarus Chakwera and former president Peter Mutharika, who was defeated by Chakwera in the last election five years ago.
Officials from Chakwera's Malawi Congress Party and Mutharika's Democratic Progressive Party held separate news briefings, each declaring their candidate the winner. The Malawi Electoral Commission said it has counted more than 99% of ballots but had not declared any presidential results, keeping a country of about 21 million people on edge amid an ongoing economic crisis and high inflation.
Election officials must declare the results within seven days of polling stations closing on Tuesday. In addition to the presidency, Malawians voted for Parliament and more than 500 local government representatives in a largely rural country in southern Africa. The race featured 17 candidates, though analysts said it was likely to be a close contest between Chakwera, 70, and Mutharika, 85, with no one guaranteed a first-round win.
A candidate must win more than 50% of the vote to take the presidency; if no one clears that threshold, a runoff would be held. The two men were the leading contenders in the 2019 elections, after which then-incumbent Mutharika was declared the winner only for a court to nullify the result months later because of irregularities that included tally sheets being altered with correction fluid. Chakwera won a court-ordered redo in 2020.
Justice Annabel Mtalimanja, the MEC chairperson, said the commission would not hurry the results management process just because some party leaders and candidates were pressing for a swift outcome. Officials stressed that accuracy and adherence to counting procedures were paramount as the country grapples with an economic crisis and rising prices.
As counting continues, Malawians await final results and the potential for a runoff, depending on whether a candidate clears the 50% threshold. The commission has emphasized transparency in the tallying process to maintain public trust during a volatile period for the southern African nation.