Lazarus Chakwera took his oath of office as Malawi’s sixth and newly elected president after beating the outgoing Peter Mutharika in a re-run election. Chakwera garnered 58% of the vote, to Mutharika’s 38%. Chakwera was sworn in by Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda in front of a crowd of thousands.
In February, Malawi’s Constitutional Court unanimously annulled Mutharika’s election victory from last year and ordered that a new election be held. They held that Mutharika was “not duly elected as president of Malawi”. The court found that some results sheets had been altered with whiteout and that others were fakes or duplicates.
The judges said, “The irregularities and anomalies have been so widespread, systematic and the integrity of the results has been seriously compromised.” Their decision also placed pressure on the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) to step down. The Court also enacted section 80(2) of the constitution, which has effectively changed Malawi’s electoral system into a majoritarian system from the previous first-past-the-post model. A candidate will now require over 50% of the votes to become President.
At the time, Mutharika denounced the court’s ruling as “a serious subversion of justice, an attack on our democratic systems and an attempt to undermine the will of the people”. He was serving his second five-year term as Malawi's President after being elected in May 2019 with 38.57% of the votes, ahead of Lazarus Chakwera and Saulos Chilima, who respectively received 35% and 20% of the votes. Chakwera also lost the 2014 presidential elections, with 27.8% of the votes, to Mutharika’s 36.4%.
At Chakwera’s swearing-in ceremony, the chairperson of the MEC, Dr. Chifundo Kachale, was warmly greeted by the thousands in the crowds. He took charge of the commission just a few weeks ago and is widely recognized for organizing a legitimate election. In fact, Chakwera himself said that his victory was a “win for democracy and justice”.
Chakwera said: “To stand before you as your president today is an honor. It’s an honor that fills me with unspeakable joy and immense gratitude. It’s an honor forged in the furnace of your desire and demand for change. It’s an honor crafted by your hand when you braved the winter chill to cast your vote. It’s an honor that has reignited the dream of our nation’s founders for a new Malawi.”
He added, “I know there are many of you who didn’t vote me and the prospect of my presidency give you fear, I want you know that my administration will strive to give equal opportunities for all of us together.”
Image Source: China Daily
Chakwera Wins Re-Run Malawi Presidential Election After 2019 Results Declared Void
The Constitutional Court annulled outgoing Peter Mutharika’s 2019 election victory.
June 29, 2020
