Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera has accepted defeat in last week’s election, saying it was clear his rival and predecessor, Peter Mutharika, had won.
Speaking to the nation on Wednesday, Chakwera said:
“A moment ago, I called Professor Mutharika to congratulate him on his victory and to wish him well.”
The final results were yet to be officially announced, but Chakwera admitted that Mutharika already had an
“insurmountable lead.”
Chakwera, 70, came to power in 2020 after defeating Mutharika, now 85. But during his term, Malawi faced serious economic problems.
Prices of food and fertilizer rose sharply, and inflation reached 33 percent. Many voters blamed his government for mismanaging the economy.
Chakwera promised a peaceful transfer of power and said his team had started preparing the handover.
He also acknowledged that many of his supporters would be disappointed by the outcome.
On Tuesday, the High Court rejected his party’s attempt to delay the release of results over claims of irregularities. Chakwera accepted the ruling, saying the issues found did not change the overall outcome.
He, however, urged the election commission to give a full account of the irregularities.
Mutharika and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) campaigned on promises to restore the economy and end shortages of fuel and fertilizer.
Supporters remembered his earlier term (2014–2020), when inflation was lower and the economy was more stable, despite problems with corruption and rising debt.
“Malawians are longing for a better past,” said political analyst Mavuto Bamusi.
He noted that while Mutharika’s time in office was not perfect, many voters trusted him more on economic management.
At his final rally in Blantyre, Mutharika told supporters: “The country is in trouble, it is suffocating. I want to rescue this country.”
This year’s election saw 17 candidates, but the race was mainly between Chakwera’s Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and Mutharika’s DPP.
About 7.2 million people were registered to vote.
Chakwera had first come to power in 2020 with nearly 59 percent of the vote in a rerun election after the courts threw out the 2019 results due to fraud.