Malawi President Chakwera concedes defeat in election, with former leader on course for victory

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BLANTYRE, Malawi (AP) — President Lazarus Chakwera conceded defeat Wednesday in Malawi’s elections, leaving 85-year-old ex-President Peter Mutharika the presumptive winner and on course to return as leader of one of Africa's poorest countries.

Chakwera said Mutharika had built an “insurmountable lead” after partial results released earlier in the week showed he had won more than 60% of the votes.

Chakwera's concession came just hours ahead of final vote results, expected to be announced later Wednesday by the Malawi Electoral Commission.

Chakwera, 70, said in a speech on national television that he had spoken with Mutharika to congratulate him.

“This outcome is a reflection of your collective will to have a change of government, and so it is only right that I concede defeat out of respect for your will as citizens and out of respect for the constitution,” Chakwera said in his address to Malawians.

Chakwera said his Malawi Congress Party would accept the outcome of the vote despite complaints in recent days from several parties, including MCP, of irregularities in some voting districts.

The Malawi Electoral Commission has not reported any major problems.

A total of 17 candidates ran for president in last Tuesday's election, including another former president Joyce Banda. But analysts always saw it as a race between Chakwera and his predecessor Mutharika, who have met in elections in 2014, 2019, 2020 and this year.

Mutharika, a former law professor, was previously Malawi president from 2014 to 2020. In 2019, then-incumbent Mutharika was declared the winner against Chakwera. But a court nullified the result because of widespread irregularities that included evidence that correction fluid had been used to change vote tally sheets.

The election was rerun more than a year later in 2020 and Chakwera won.

Chakwera’s election was greeted at the time by street celebrations. But the former evangelical preacher has since lost popularity, largely due to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

Mutharika had campaigned on promises of fixing the economy and restoring trusted, experienced leadership.

Malawians also voted for the makeup of Parliament and more than 500 local government representatives in the midst of an economic crisis in the southern African nation of 21 million.

The economy was seen as the main issue for voters, who had grown weary of fuel shortages and spiking food prices.

Inflation has shot up to over 27%, while a devastating cyclone in 2023 and a drought last year worsened hardship in a country where more than 80% of the population live rurally and rely on agriculture.

Malawi gained international attention last year when a military plane crash killed 51-year-old Vice President Saulos Chilima, who was popular with young Malawians and seen as a leader in waiting.

A former British protectorate that won independence in 1964, the country was ruled for 30 years by the autocratic Hastings Banda until 1994. It has developed a peaceful multiparty democracy over the last two decades.

Mutharika’s brother, Bingu wa Mutharika, served as Malawi president from 2004 until his death in office in 2012.

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