Malawi counted votes Wednesday after a general election dominated by economic hardships in the largely poor country that could knock outgoing President Lazarus Chakwera’s chances of winning a second term.
Observers said preliminary results from Tuesday’s vote indicated a strong showing for his predecessor and main rival Peter Mutharika, though Chakwera’s party voiced confidence in a victory.
The cost of living has soared after months of inflation topping 27 percent in a largely rural country where the World Bank says more than 70 percent live in poverty.
A chronic shortage of foreign currency has restricted imports of fuel, food and fertiliser, hitting an economy dependent on rain-fed agriculture including for its main export, tobacco.
Early initial results suggest people across the southern African country were rallying behind Mutharika, persuaded that Malawi was better off during his 2014-2020 term, political analyst George Chaima told AFP.
Mutharika, 85, who is a retired law professor, lost to Chakwera, a 70-year-old pastor, in a 2020 rerun of polls a year earlier that were nullified on opposition claims that correction fluid was used to alter vote tallies.
Since 2020, an outright victory in a presidential vote requires more than 50 percent of votes, with a second-round runoff due in 60 days if this is not achieved.
Provisional results from the vote — which was also for parliament and local councils — are expected from Thursday, with the election authority required to issue the verified result within eight days.
“Despite shortcomings and shortfalls (during Mutharika’s first term), Malawians were not going through rough times like we are now, economically,” Chaima said.
“If you look at the current status quo, you’ll find that the elites are living a very lavish lifestyle… they don’t feel the pinch that people are feeling now,” he said.
Mutharika and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) campaigned on pledges to end the foreign exchange shortage within six months, reduce government borrowing and grow the economy in a “return to proven leadership”.
– ‘Many going hungry’ –
“There seems to be a tight competition,” said Michael Kaiyatsa, executive director of the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR).
The early trend in support for Mutharika was surprising because he was rejected in the 2020 polls, he told AFP. But “people change and, also, five years in politics is a long time,” he added.
“Many people are going hungry,” he said. “Many people have been forced into poverty because of the hard economic situation.”
As an agriculture-dependent economy, Malawi is vulnerable to climate shocks which have included a drought in 2024 and a devastating cyclone the year before that killed more than 1,000 people.
At his final rally at the weekend, Chakwera said he was aware of complaints about the cost of living, lack of resources and food scarcity.
“I have taken your words to heart. We will fix things,” said the Malawi Congress Party leader.
More than 64 percent of 7.2 million registered voters cast a ballot Tuesday, according to early figures from the election authority.
AFP
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