Malawi's Mutharika back at 85

His return as president highlights the country's deep political divides, rooted in regional loyalties

- Collins Mtika

Comeback kid: Peter Mutharika is back in the presidential seat, taking 56.8% of the vote. Photo: File

Peter Mutharika's comeback makes him the oldest serving president in Southern Africa. At 85, he is four years older than Uganda's Yoweri Museveni, and if he serves a full term, he will leave office at 90.

Seven hours before the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) announced the results of the 16 September tripartite elections for president, members of parliament and local government councillors, outgoing President Lazarus Chakwera addressed the nation for the last time on state broadcaster MBC to concede defeat.

Chakwera, the leader of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), congratulated Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in a speech from Kamuzu Palace in the capital Lilongwe on Wednesday afternoon.

MEC chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja appeared later in the evening to confirm Mutharika had won the presidential race — which had a record 17 candidates — with 3 035249 votes, or 56.8% of the total, against 1765170 for Chakwera, easily crossing the 50% plus one threshold required for an outright win.

His acceptance of defeat came after the high court in Lilongwe late on Tuesday dismissed a bid by Chakwera and the MCP to block the announcement of final results over alleged irregularities as premature.

As tension mounted prominent voices urged Chakwera to choose statesmanship over a protracted legal battle. Leading the calls was former president Bakili Muluzi, who defeated Malawi's “president for life” Hastings Kamuzu Banda in the country's first multiparty election in 1994.