Chakwera concedes electoral defeat to ex-President

Former Malawi President Peter Mutharika has been re-elected with 56.8% of votes in last week’s polls that was marked by the dire state of the economy, the election commission has announced. According to Al Jazeera, incumbent President Lazarus Chakwera took 33% of ballots cast on 16 September. Chakwera conceded defeat to his predecessor Mutharika (85). Since Chakwera was elected in 2020, the country has experienced economic stagnation. Costs soared in the impoverished agricultural nation, with inflation reaching 33% and the price of food, maize and fertiliser increasing. Chakwera had also promised to crack down on corruption when he was elected, but critics have accused his government of dealing with cases slowly and selectively. In comparison, former law professor Mutharika was credited with improving infrastructure and lowering inflation during his presidency from 2014 to 2020. However, critics accused him of cronyism, which he denied. In 2019, Mutharika’s 2019 election victory was annulled by a Constitutional Court due to irregularities, including the use of correction fluid on results sheets.