President Lazarus Chakwera yesterday voted at Malembo Primary School Polling Station in his Kasiya home village on the outskirts of Lilongwe while ex-Malawi leaders Peter Mutharika and Joyce Banda cast their ballots in Thyolo and Zomba respectively.
President Chakwera, who is facing 16 candidates in his re-election bid as the governing Malawi Congress Party presidential candidate, was accompanied by First Lady Monica Chakwera.
He looked calm and composed after casting his vote, but did not grant interviews to the media.
But writing on his Facebook page, Chakwera called on all registered voters to turn up and vote.
“The First Lady and I have voted and exercised our right to vote today. I encourage you to do the same before polling closes at 4pm,” he said.
At Malembo in Lilongwe Chilobwe Constituency, voters were only choosing a President after Malawi Electoral Commission declared Lawrence Chaziya as legislator and Hilton Masache of Nyang’amiro Ward as councillor after it emerged that their nominations had no opposition.
Meanwhile, presiding officers in selected polling stations said almost 60 percent of voters had cast their votes by midday.
Chifuniro Kamata, a presiding officer of a polling station at Malembo Primary School Polling Centre, said the turnout was encouraging.
In a random interview, a 79-year-old Daniel Munyaika who had just cast his vote, urged people to vote.
At Goliati Primary School Polling Station in Thyolo yesterday, there was pandemonium when immediate past president Peter Mutharika turned up to cast his vote.
The commotion began as Mutharika’s convoy arrived at the centre, prompting scores of people to flood the school’s grounds to catch a glimpse of the Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate, who hails from the area but is resident in Mangochi.
The cheering crowd surged forward as the chauffer-driven Mutharika stepped out of his vehicle, disrupting the voting process for nearly 20 minutes. Those already standing in line abandoned the queue to witness the spectacle.
Mutharika, accompanied by his wife and former first lady Gertrude, was initially scheduled to vote at 11.30am, but arrived two hours late at 1.35 pm. It took him 16 minutes to complete the voting process for President, legislator and ward councillor.
He was welcomed by his long-time personal bodyguard, Norman Chisale, before proceeding to the registration desk to confirm his details and vote.
Mutharika served as President between 2014 and 2020. His second term secured in 2019 ended barely one year after the High Court of Malawi sitting as a Constitutional Court nullified his victory over irregularities.
He lost to a pair of his former vice-president Saulos Chilima (deceased) who was running mate of Malawi Congress Party presidential candidate Lazarus Chakwera under the Tonse Alliance. Chilima, as first petitioner, and Chakwera as second petitioner asked the court to nullify the election and order a fresh vote.
Thyolo Goliati Constituency returning officer Brenda Chimeta said voting began smoothly, with all materials dispatched on time.
However, she acknowledged that some centres faced difficulties when gadgets malfunctioned due to network problems, while others lacked SIM cards, creating anxiety among voters.
Malawi Human Rights Commission commissioner Andrew Kavala, who was part of the local observer team, expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the elections, particularly in the handling of human rights concerns.
Thyolo Goliati Constituency, one of the 35 newly-created constituencies, has eight candidates contesting for the parliamentary seat and five vying for local government positions.
On her part, former president Joyce Banda urged Malawians to be patient as they await official results currently trickling to tally centres nationwide.
The People’s Party (PP) presidential candidate made the call at Domasi in Zomba where she cast her vote at Malemia Primary School in the district.
She emphasized that elections are a competition which elects people into five-year term leadership positions and that people need not fight over results.
“No need to fight because of elections [as] we all share the common denominator of Malawi,” said Banda, who served as president between April 2012 and May 2014 after ascending to the presidency in line with constitutional order following the death of President Bingu wa Mutharika.
Meanwhile, UTM presidential candidate Dalitso Kabambe cast his ballot at Chikumba Primary School Polling Station at Masambanjati in Thyolo.
—Additional reporting by
HOLYCE KHOLOWA and JONATHAN PASUNGWI
