Malawi opposition leader wins historic election rerun

The Malawi Electoral Commission announced on Saturday that Lazarus Chakwera, Malawi's main opposition leader, has defeated incumbent president Peter Mutharika with 58.57 percent of the vote in the country's historic presidential election re-run held on Tuesday.

Following the official announcement of the results, Chakwera said his victory was a win for democracy and justice, adding that his heart is bubbling with joy.

"Together we will do that which we have promised, that is, to build a new Malawi that will be good for us all," Chakwera said.

While reacting to the results, Mutharika said, "I find this election unacceptable, but for the sake peace, and for the love of our country, which is larger than us all, I wish to ask Malawians to remain peaceful. It is only my sincere hope that we will unite to take this country forward instead of taking it backward." Mutharika added that he may mount a legal challenge against the results.

Chakwera, who also is the leader of the Malawi Congress Party, is expected to be sworn in Sunday as head of state and government at Parliament. The Malawi Defense Force on Saturday deployed soldiers to guard Chakwera, according him full presidential protocol, including an aide-de-camp.

In February Malawi's Constitutional Court ordered a rerun of the country's 2019 election after establishing that the original ballot had been marred by widespread irregularities. The 2019 poll saw Mutharika narrowly re-elected by fewer than 159,000 votes. Chakwera, who came in second in that election, argued that tallying forms had been added up incorrectly and tampered with.