Malawi Congress Party (MCP) presidential candidate is currently leading in the presidential race in the court-sanctioned fresh election.
Voting closed on Tuesday 6 pm in the Malawi’s hotly contested presidential vote, the second time in just over a year, after incumbent President Peter Mutharika’s re-election was annulled by the Constitution Court over irregularities.
According to votes that have so far been counted, opposition candidate Lazarus Chakwera of MCP is leading with a small percentage followed by the incumbent president Peter Mutharika of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) with Peter Kuwani trailing at the bottom.
As expected, results from the Central region show Chakwera performing extremely well and he is also faring well in the Northern region while Mutharika is getting the lion’s share in the Southern and Eastern regions.
The election is much anticipated after the Constitutional Court in early February ruled that the May 2019 vote was fraught with grave and widespread irregularities including the use of correction fluid on results sheets
It ordered new elections be held within 150 days of its February ruling.
President Mutharika vehemently denied the verdict and he has been accusing the Malawi judiciary of orchestrating a coup in corroboration with the opposition leaders Chakwera and Saulos Chilima.
His denial was clearly reflected in his conduct during the campaign period as he kept himself indoors while his opponents were crisscrossing the country to solicit votes in preparation for the fresh poll.
Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) launched the campaign period for the fresh presidential election on May 2, 2020 but Mutharika already managed to hold not more than seven rallies.
MEC is yet to start giving official results at the mainly tally centre in Blantyre at College of Medicine.
A candidate will be declared a winner only if he amasses 50 percent plus 1 of the total votes cast as opposed to the tradition First-Past-the-Post (FPP).