Opposition leader, Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), has defeated the incumbent, President Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), in a landslide 58.57% vote share, in Malawi’s presidential election rerun.
Why There Was a Rerun in Malawi?
Malawians returned to the polls last Tuesday for a re-run of the contested 2019 presidential election, five months after the annulment of the vote in which President Mutharika was declared the winner. The opposition contested the results citing irregularities and got a favourable ruling from judges who found evidence of vote tampering and rejected Mr Mutharika’s appeal. The election was annulled and a new round of voting scheduled for June. This was the first time a court had annulled an election in Malawi.
Voter Turnout and Participation
Despite the COVID19 outbreak, Malawians came out in numbers to vote. They did not only vote but were active through most of the polling process.
On the day of the elections, a video surfaced online, showing Malawi citizens forming a protective barrier around those carrying ballot boxes in preparation for vote counting. Since the announcement of Mr Lazarus as the winner of the polls, it has been a celebration in most parts of the country.
Also, the incumbent has accepted the outcome of the polls and has been reported to have vacated the presidential palace. This is a breath of fresh air as anti-government protests, and the political divide which led to clashes between groups and the police in the run-up to the election threatened to plunge Malawi into a political crisis.
Who is Lazarus Chekwara?
The 65-year old president-elect is a theologian and leader of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP). After resigning as the president of the Assemblies of God church in Malawi in 2013, he made a full-dive into politics and has since shown his interest in becoming president. He is now the 6th President of the Republic of Malawi. He is known to always preach peace and tolerance, it remains to see how this will come to play now that he is president.
