Peter Mutharika re-elected Malawi president

BY Moses Michael-Phiri

BLANTYRE, Malawi (AA) - Peter Mutharika has been re-elected president of Malawi after a hotly contested election last week, the country's election body said Monday.

Malawi Electoral Commission chairperson Jane Ansah announced the results after an injunction ordered by the court was lifted.

Opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera had earlier challenged the results over voting irregularities and filed a case in the court.

Ansah said the commission has reviewed all complaints and declared the polls as free and fair.

"We declare the presidential elections to be free and fair and these results are a true reflection of the will of the people of Malawi,” she said.

Mutharika, 78, campaigned for a second five-year term on his good development record and farm input subsidies.

“He [Mutharika] had to win this election because most Malawians have voted for him. Reports by the opposition parties that the ruling Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] has rigged are unfounded and baseless,” Nicholas Dausi, the ruling party spokesman told Anadolu Agency.

Another contender in the election, Saulos Chilima, the current vice-president, who is also disputing the results, wished Mutharika well on his re-election, but declined to concede defeat.

“I can only wish the winner well, but we will continue to seek justice,” Chilima told local station Times TV.

Malawians interviewed after the result announcement said by receiving only 38.57% of the vote, Mutharika has been rejected by the majority. The top two opposition candidates have amassed 60% of the vote between them.

Political analysts said the outcome of the presidential election is a test of the first-past-the-post system that Malawi follows. Parliament last year rejected a 50+1 system.

Malawians went to the polls last Tuesday to elect 193 members of parliament, 462 local government councillors and the president.

Nearly 5.1 million people voted, the election body said.