Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera has conceded defeat after he was thrashed in the September 16 general election by his successor and predecessor, Arthur Peter Mutharika.
In a televised address from Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe on Wednesday, Chakwera, who only served one term, said he conceded defeat and congratulated Mutharika for trouncing him in the high-stakes poll.
“From those official results that [MEC announced as of two nights ago], it was clear that my main rival, His Excellency Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika, had already secured an insurmountable lead and is the presumptive winner of the presidential election,” Chakwera stated.
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‘It is only right that I concede defeat out of respect for your will as citizens and out of respect for the constitution,” Chakwera added.
Preliminary poll results showed Mutharika securing 66.7% of votes from 24 of 36 councils, surpassing the 50%+1 threshold and avoiding a run-off, while Chakwera trailed at 24%.
While the Electoral Commission was due to release the results of the vote at a briefing later on Wednesday, official results released so far show ex-president Mutharika has gained a strong lead over Chakwera.
Last week, citizens took to the polls to vote on the country’s next leader, in a vote that analysts predicted would be one of the most tightly contested votes in the country in recent history between Mutharika and Chakwera, the candidates of the two biggest parties in Malawi’s parliament.
However, the dire state of the economy dominated the election, with critics accusing the president of mismanagement and indecisiveness.
Since Chakwera was elected in 2020, the country has experienced economic stagnation and is one of the poorest countries in the world.
The cost of basic goods soared in the impoverished agricultural nation, with inflation reaching 33 per cent and the price of food, maize and fertiliser increasing.
According to the World Bank, nearly three-quarters of Malawians live below the $3-a-day poverty line.
Mutharika, a former law professor, was credited with improving infrastructure and lowering inflation during his presidency from 2014 to 2020.
However, critics accused him of cronyism, which he denied during an interview with a local media house.
In 2019, Mutharika’s 2019 election victory was quashed by a constitutional court due to irregularities, including the use of correction fluid on results sheets.
In the rerun the following year, Chakwera secured his victory.
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