Malawi’s electoral commission says it has been blocked from announcing presidential election results until a “transparent recounting of the ballot papers” in 10 districts including the country’s commercial hub, Blantyre.
The High Court injunction was obtained by the leading opposition Malawi Congress Party and its candidate Lazarus Chakwera amid scores of complaints filed with the commission by various parties over the election process.
Before the count was halted over the complaints, the MCP’s candidate Chakwera was reported to have taken 35.4% of the votes tallied in three-quarters of the polling stations. Incumbent President Peter Mutharika was reported to be leading with 40.9%.
Chakwera said his own party’s estimates indicated he was leading in the count.
The third-placed candidate, Vice President Saulos Chilima, who had gathered 18% of the partial count, called for “nullification of the aggregated vote.”
The 78-year-old Mutharika has recently faced accusations of corruption and favoring rural areas where he has most political support.
Corruption and the need for economic growth have been the main election issues in Malawi, one of the world’s least developed countries.
