SANF 25 no 24 by Clarkson Mambo
Malawians voted in general elections on 16 September to choose a president, members of parliament and ward councillors, with a good turnout of voters, candidates and regional observers.
Vote counting commenced immediately after voting ended at 4pm at most polling stations.
The counting is taking place at 15,148 polling stations across the country where 7.2 million registered voters had the opportunity to cast their ballots, according to the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC),
Long and winding queues of expectant voters characterized most polling stations, with more women (57.1 percent) than men (42.8 percent) having voted by the close of polling, according to initial information released by the MEC.
The initial voter turnout was estimated at 60.4 percent, with the figure expected to go up as ballots are consolidated.
A total of 17 candidates ran for president, including the incumbent President, Dr Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP).
Other top candidates are former Presidents, Professor Peter Mutharika and Joyce Banda, who lead the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the People’s Party (PP), respectively.
This year’s election sees the introduction of a larger parliament and local councils. A reassessment of constituency and ward borders in 2022 led to an increase in parliamentary seats to 229 from 193 in 2019 and wards increased to 509 from 462.
At least 1,489 candidates were vying for the parliamentary seats, including more than 600 independent candidates.
The MEC chairperson, Justice Annabel Mtalimanja, thanked Malawians for being patient and peaceful during the voting period, which was extended for a few hours for some polling stations that faced challenges.
The electoral commission has until 24 September to announce the presidential results and 30 September for results of the parliamentary election.
Justice Mtalimanja called for patience, asking citizens and the media to stop sharing unverified results.
Structures have been set up for reporting any electoral grievances.
During the campaign, which closed on 14 September, Chakwera said the elections gave Malawians an opportunity to vote for a “steady and focused leadership” that will take the country forward. He is seeking a second and final term in the highest office.
The opposition parties promised economic stability, growth and job creation as well as reducing the prices of goods and services.
The presidential election is attracting special attention following the events of the last election in 2019 that resulted in the Constitutional Court in Malawi nullifying the presidential election results.
The then President, Prof Mutharika, had been declared the winner, but the opposition led by Dr Chakwera challenged the result, which the courts overturned due to irregularities that were deemed to have affected the outcome. This led to fresh elections a year later, which were won by Dr Chakwera.
Following the controversies of the 2019 election, Malawi introduced a new system that requires a presidential candidate to win outright, with a majority of more than 50 percent of total votes. Failure to garner a majority will see the top two candidates going for a run-off election.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC), to which Malawi is a founding member, deployed 80 observers to the election, led by Themba Masuku, the former Deputy Prime Minister of Eswatini.
The SADC Executive Secretary, Elias Magosi, was part of the election observer team. The regional body strives to ensure that its member states hold their elections in line with the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections. sardc.net