Contrary to some expectations, the presidential election on September 16th has produced a clear winner, meaning that a run-off vote is no longer necessary. 85-year-old Prof. Peter Arthur Mutharika (DPP) was elected as the new president with 56.8% of the vote. He had already been president from 2014-2020. The voter turnout was 76.4%. The previous incumbent Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera (MCP) only achieved 33.0%.
Of the other 15 candidates, only Dr Dalitso Kabambe (UTM) with 4.0%, Atupele Austin Muluzi (UDF) with 1.9% and former President Dr Joyce Hilda Banda (PP) with 1.6% received more than one percent of all votes.
When it was already clear during the vote count that he had lost the election, President Chakwera released this statement