The Malawi Election Commission (MEC) has warned members of the public against unofficial announcement of rerun election results.
Malawi held the rerun elections on the 23rd of June after the Supreme Court last year annulled Mutharika’s re-election citing irregularities.
Addressing a news conference in Blantyre, the chairperson of the MEC Chifundo Kachale said:
We appeal to Malawians to maintain peace and calm as the vote-counting continues.
Polls closed across Malawi Tuesday evening but the electoral commission has until July 3 to unveil the results, although the announcement is widely thought likely to come this week.
President Mutharika and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) are in an alliance with another party, the United Democratic Front (UDF).
MCP’s Lazarus Chakwera is leading a nine-party opposition coalition, the Tonse Alliance, and has the backing of former President Joyce Banda as well as the country’s vice-president, Saulos Chilima, as his running mate.
Mr Chilima – who finished third in the 2019 vote – was once an ally of President Mutharika, but has since fallen out with him.
More: Africa News; BBC; WashingtonPost