Former President Peter Mutharika was declared the winner of Malawi’s election on Wednesday, ousting incumbent Lazarus Chakwera to return as leader of one of Africa’s poorest countries.
Chakwera conceded defeat in a speech on national television hours before the final results were announced, and supporters of Mutharika and his Democratic Progressive Party had already gathered in the streets of the commercial capital, Blantyre, to celebrate.
The 85-year-old Mutharika, who was president from 2014-2020, won 56% of the vote, according to the Malawi Electoral Commission. Chakwera was second with 33%.
The winning candidate needed to receive more than 50% of the vote to avoid a runoff.
“This outcome is a reflection of your collective will to have a change of government, and so it is only right that I concede defeat out of respect for your will as citizens and out of respect for the constitution,” Chakwera said in his earlier
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