By Mark Ogagan
Former president of Malawi, Peter Mutharika (Pictured), has taken an early lead in the country’s Presidential election as he faces off for the fourth time against incumbent Lazarus Chakwera.
Mutharika received roughly 51 per cent of the valid votes cast in nine of the country’s 36 councils, compared with almost 39 per cent for Chakwera, according to provisional results from one-quarter of councils released by the country’s election commission.
A candidate needs to secure more than 50 per cent of valid votes for an outright win, otherwise there will be a second round of voting.
Political analysts had predicted the September 16 vote would be a two-horse race between Mutharika and Chakwera, the presidential candidates of the two biggest parties in the Southern African country’s parliament.
Malawi has faced economic stagnation since former pastor Chakwera, 70, was elected five years ago.
A devastating cyclone and a regional drought, both linked to climate change, have wiped out crops and worsened hardship.
Inflation has been above 20 per cent for more than three years.
Former law professor Mutharika, 85, was credited with improving infrastructure and lowering inflation during his 2014 to 2020 presidency, but critics accused him of cronyism, which he denied.
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