MALAWI’S President Lazarus Chakwera has conceded defeat in the just-concluded presidential election to former president Peter Mutharika.
Chakwera revealed while addressing the nation some hours before the official result is scheduled to be declared on Wednesday.
“It is only right that I concede defeat out of respect for your will as citizens and out of respect for the constitution. I am fully committed to … a peaceful transfer of power,” Chakwera said.
Partial official results indicate that former president Peter Mutharika, Chakwera’s predecessor, has established a strong lead in the September 16 poll.
The Malawi Electoral Commission is expected to announce the presidential election results later today (Wednesday)
This month’s election marked the fourth face-off between Mutharika, 85, and Chakwera, 70.
Mutharika won the 2014 and 2019 elections, although the Constitutional Court annulled his 2019 victory after uncovering widespread irregularities, including the alteration of results sheets with correction fluid, and Chakwera won the re-run of that election in 2020.
The ICIR reported in 2020 that Malawi Constitutional Court, in Lilongwe the nation’s capital, declared that Mutharika was not duly elected on May 21, 2019, and therefore demanded fresh elections.
The two leaders had challenged the narrow victory of Mutharika, alleging that the irregularities affected over 1.4 million of the total 5.1 million votes cast, which led to months of violent demonstrations across the nation.
A new vote was held within 150 days after the court unanimous ruling of the five-man panel, who expressed hope the ruling would not “destroy the nation”.
Analysts had forecast that Mutharika would pose a strong challenge to Chakwera’s re-election, given the worsening economic situation since the last vote, as inflation has been above 20 per cent for more than three years.
According to World Bank estimates, nearly three-quarters of Malawians live on less than $3 a day, while about half of the population fail to meet the minimum daily calorie requirements for proper nutrition.
Also, a destructive cyclone and a regional drought, both tied to climate change, have destroyed crops and deepened hardship.
Mutharika’s supporters erupted in celebration at the national results centre after learning that Chakwera had conceded.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.