Premium
Malawi's Peter Mutharika takes lead in election count
Malawi's President Arthur Peter Mutharika (C-R) stands on the queue prior to casting his vote at Goliati Primary School in his home village of Goliati in the district of Thyolo, May 21, 2019. PHOTO | AMOS GUMULIRA | AFP
What you need to know:
- President Mutharika, who heads the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and is fighting for a second five-year term, has 40.49 percent of the vote, the Electoral Commission said.
- Opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera had 35.44 percent, while Vice President Saulos Chilima was on 18 percent, according to the partial results.
- Mr Chakwera on Wednesday warned of alleged attempts to rig Tuesday's election, saying his Malawi Congress Party (MCP) was conducting its own count that showed he was ahead.
- Malawi won independence from colonial ruler Britain in 1964, and was then ruled by Hastings Banda as a one-party state until the first multi-party elections in 1994.
BLANTYRE,
Malawian President Peter Mutharika leads his main rival in this week's election winning more than 40 percent of votes cast, according to figures released on Thursday with three-quarters of votes counted.
