Mutharika declared winner of Malawi disputed elections

Malawi’s Election Commission (MEC) has just announced that the incumbent Peter Mutharika has won the presidential election.

Earlier, a high court in Malawi lifted an injunction against the announcement of final results in the presidential elections.

“Our lawyers have just informed us that the injunction has been removed so we are going to announce election results in about 20 minutes,” Justice Jane Ansah told Journalists at the election centre in Blantyre.

Malawians went to the ballot on 21 May to elect the next president, a new parliament and local councillors.

The last results issued by Malawi’s electoral commission on Wednesday showed that incumbent president Peter Mutharika was leading by a slim margin in the polls.

But two of his opponents went to court claiming that the vote had been tampered with.

The high court consequently barred the release of the final presidential results but has now lifted this ban.

It’s been an anxious wait for Malawians and this decision means they can now know the man who will lead them over the next five years.

Nearly seven million people were registered to take part in the elections that have been the most competitive in the country’s history.

The next president will have to deal with a struggling economy, high unemployment levels and corruption in government.