Malawi's former President Peter Mutharika had built a commanding lead over incumbent Lazarus Chakwera in the presidential election, according to provisional results from two-thirds of councils on Monday.
Unofficial results had shown Mutharika leading by 66% of the valid votes cast in 24 of the country's 36 councils in the September 16 election, compared with about 24% for Chakwera.
Political analysts have predicted that Mutharika, 85, who was in power between 2014 and 2020, is making a strong comeback, making his successor a one-term President.
Questions are being raised, however, about the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) workings as the southern African nation awaits the results of an election held a week ago.
Malawi, a country of about 21.6 million, had a total of 7,203,390 registered voters representing 65.7% of the projected 10,957,490 eligible voters as per the MEC.
On Monday night, NEC issued an ambiguous update about the tallying of the elections but did not give interim figures or state when the final results will be declared, even as supporters of rival candidates started street demos.
MEC Chairperson Justice Annabel Mtalimanja instead condemned street protests and similar tactics aimed at pressuring the Commission to announce election results prematurely.
“MEC is responsible for announcing results only after thoroughly verifying all data and addressing any raised queries,” she explained.
“There are those demanding immediate results or threatening demonstrations, but we will not be shaken,” Mtalimanja stated.
“We are guided strictly by the law and will continue to follow it without compromise.”
The Malawi, just like the Kenyan constitution, provides that the President shall be elected by a majority of more than fifty per cent of the valid votes cast through direct, universal and equal suffrage.
And, where such a majority is not obtained by any candidate in the first poll, a second poll shall be held within sixty days after the declaration of the result, in which the candidates who obtained the highest votes cast in the first poll shall be the only candidates.
The disputed Malawian presidential election of 2019 was officially won by the then incumbent Peter Mutharika, with 38.57% of the vote, just ahead of Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party on 35.41%.
The opposition immediately rejected the outcome and announced that it would appeal to the Constitutional Court, alleging that the real results were concealed with tippex (whiteout), with fake ones more favourable to the ruling party written over the top.
On 3 February 2020, the High Court of Malawi sitting on constitutional matters nullified the presidential election that was held on 21 May 2019, where Mutharika had been declared the winner. That decision was upheld by the Supreme Court of Appeal on 8 May 2020.
A fresh presidential election was held on 23 June 2020 under the supervision of a new commission, and Malawi made history in Africa on 27 June when the then opposition candidate, Dr. Chakwera, was announced a winner.
Peter Mutharika, 85, is a younger brother of the late Bingu Wa Mutharika, who was President of Malawi from 20004 until 2012 when he died in office aged 78 from what was said to be a heart attack.
