Protests broke out in Malawi amid vote rigging accusations

Lazarus Chakwera (L) Peter Muthalika (R)

Former Malawian president Peter Arthur Mutharika (pictured) – a profesosr of law – has won the country’s presidential election, returning to office five years after he lost to incumbent President Lazarus Chakwera, according to one of his rivals, opposition United Transformation Movement candidate Dalitso Kabambe.

 

Official results have not yet been announced.

Malawians are currently in the streets at night, protesting what they say is Chakwera’s attempt to steal the election.

 

Mutharika, 85, leader of the opposition opposition Democratic Progressive Party, served as the fifth president from 2014-2020.

 

His re-election in 2019 was controversially nullified by the Constitutional Court due to widespread irregularities.

 

The court’s decision was later upheld, and a re-run was ordered, which Mutharika lost to Chakwera, leader of the Malawi Congress Party.

 

During his first term presidency, Mutharika, whose late brother Bingu wa Mutharika was president from 2004-2012, faced allegations of involvement in corruption, though his party denied any wrongdoing.

 

In 2020, his bank accounts were frozen as part of an anti-corruption investigation, and in 2021, a court dismissed his application to unfreeze them.

 

Before entering politics, Mutharika was a law professor in the United States specialising in international economic law, constitutional law, and international law.

 

He taught at several universities, including Washington University in St. Louis.

 

Chakwera’s turbulent time in office has been marked by serious economic challenges, including high inflation, fuel shortages and foreign currency crisis, making his re-election a mount to climb.

Newshawks