IT’S PETER!
The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) last night declared the DPP presidential candidate Peter Mutharika winner of the presidential race in the May 20 Tripartite Elections.
Mutharika, who becomes Malawi’s fifth Head of State and his running mate Saulos Chilima, are set to be sworn in as President and Vice-President, respectively, at the High Court of Malawi and the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal complex in Blantyre this morning, according to DPP director of elections Kondwani Nankhumwa.
Making the declaration at the National Tally Centre in Blantyre after commissioner the Reverend Emmanuel Chinkwita Phiri announced the results, MEC chairperson Maxon Mbendera, who was earlier choked with emotions—especially with the death of a protestor in Mangochi, advised Mutharika not to take the confidence people have shown in him for granted.
silence in honour of a protester killed in Mangochi
Said Mbendera: “People have elected you because they believe you can make a difference. So, do not waste your time on things that do not matter.”
MCP presidential candidate Lazarus Chakwera finished second whereas incumbent President Joyce Banda who led the People’s Party (PP) came third and Atupele Muluzi of the United Democratic Front (UDF) was fourth among the pre-election top four front-runners.
Banda, who ascended to the presidency in line with constitutional order on April 7 2012 after the death of Bingu wa Mutharika, has become the second incumbent in Malawi to lose a general election. The first was founding president Hastings Kamuzu Banda who lost the first post-single party general election in 1994.
